Wizards
by epikhippo
Summary: Luna smiled at the surprised guest. "Yes, we're an odd mix of friends, but really, we're just witches and wizards." Draco casually put his arm around Hermione's shoulder and smirked, "Odd is an understatement, but welcome to the group mate." Three years after the war. AU. Not your typical Draco/Hermione story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello! I now have a lovely beta, magic-never-dies! So all chapters are now edited and better! Enjoy and please let me know what you think!**

Luna was dangling the purple teapot over the stove while staring at two painted mugs in her hand just as the door pushed open with a creak.

"Back so soon Hermione," said Luna, "and I thought that Luke was, as you said, the best catch."

"I said best match, not catch," Hermione clearly enunciated while shrugging off her black cardigan. "If he was the best catch, he would've had _gorgeous_ hair, eyes, and bod-"

"Do I hear someone talking about me?" Draco interrupted Hermione bursting out of the bathroom wearing lowly slung towel and shaking his wet hair about.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she kicked off her shoes and plopped down on the orange couch, "Bloody hell, why are you still here Malfoy," giving him a pointed glare, "I thought your _date_ started thirty minutes ago."

"Can't be too easy now, can I love," smirked Draco. He strutted off to Luna's room to change while casting a drying charm on himself.

Hermione turned to Luna, "Why does he even shower here?"

"I'm not sure, but he does strangely smell like you after his showers," Luna said while handing Hermione the mug.

Hermione gave Luna a quizzical stare. She always seemed to stump Hermione Granger, with her peculiar observations and comments. Hermione took a sip from her mug.

"Bloody hell Luna! You did not just pour me a MUGFUL of Vodka!"

"Merlin Granger, it's just Vodka. Judging from last weekend, I can personally attest to your penchant for alcoholic concoctions," Draco said from the room.

"Shove it Malfoy, I'm not the one who secretly carries shots of detoxifying potions around so I don't pass out after two shots." Hermione gathered her long wavy chesnut hair into a ponytail.

"It was ONE time! Jeez woman, will you never let it go?" Draco exclaims looking as embarrassed as a Malfoy could ever be. Before Hermione could open her mouth, Draco burst from the room and paraded to the door, dressed in his routine black slacks and grey sweater.

"See you ladies. Time for a lovely evening with Samantha!"

"It's Amanda!" Luna and Hermione shouted at Draco who was already down the hall.

"Vodka with Butterbeer. I figured you'd need it. Especially with Draco showering and all," said Luna with a wink.

Hermione stared at Luna incredulously for thirty seconds before letting out a sigh and taking gulps from her mug. After three gulps, she gave Luna a tired smile as Luna also took a sip and sat down next to Hermione.

"Tell me Hermione, how was your date?"

Hermione scoffed, "A date? Please, all he did was ask me about Harry and what he was up to. Seriously, maybe if Luke was actually decent looking, I would've gone along with it, but I'm just so tired of it Luna."

"I know, but you can't blame the people for being curious."

"Still! It's been three years! Harry just vanished with Ginny! The postcards she sends us are nice, but don't you think it's time they come back?"

Luna gently patted Hermione on the shoulder, "They'll come back when they're ready. We just have to be patient."

Hermione looked into her mug and shrugged, "I mean, you're great Luna, you're one of my best friends, and even Malfoy isn't that bad. But I just miss them you know?"

Luna nodded in agreement, and the girls let the comfortable silence take over. It was their newly found routine. After a long day at work, Hermione at the Ministry, and Luna managing The Quibbler, the two would just sit on the ugly orange sofa and wind down. Often with an array of beverages Luna would create in the mug. After a while, Hermione quipped,

"I do not get weird when Malfoy showers."

Looking up to Hermione, Luna smiled, "Of course you don't."

"Ugh, why does he even shower here? He does know that it's MY flat and MY bills!"

Despite this little outburst, Luna gave her a thoughtful gaze, "Eight times a week. Give or take a few."

The two looked at each other for the briefest of moments and burst into a fit of giggles.

Luna put aside her mug and started braiding a portion of her dirty blonde hair, "He does have a nice body. Have you noticed?"

"The great Draco Malfoy? I do have eyes you know," Hermione admitted with a wink.

* * *

"Well, it's been a lovely evening Samantha, but I'm afraid it must come to an end here," Draco graciously said as the pair approached his flat.

She gripped onto his arm even tighter, "Already Draco?" she purred, "but I think our evening is just beginning."

"Yes, I'm sure that would be charming, but we _both _need our beauty sleep." He peeled Samantha's arm off with a polite smile. When she started to flutter her oversized eyelashes with the mention of sleep, he slipped right through his door, "Separately. Goodnight Samantha."

Draco leaned heavily against his door and waited for the inhuman whines and insults to subside. When he heard the click-clacks of her shoes fade, he took off his sweater and headed to his room. "Pasty white arse?" he muttered, "I don't even remember her name anymore." After changing into a grey cotton v-neck, he made his way across the hall and into his neighbor's flat. There he saw Hermione and Luna asleep on the couch in front of the telly. He quietly shut the door and tiptoed over to them. Conjuring up a blanket, he gently moved Hermione's head from its spot on her left shoulder to a more comfortable position. As always, Luna was sleeping upright so Draco draped the blanket across their laps. Just as he was about to head towards the fridge, he heard the sound of Luna's voice,

"You're back rather soon Draco. It _is_ only eleven, on a Saturday evening."

"Uhh yeah, didn't go well," replied Draco quietly, running his hand through his hair. He turned around, anticipating more of Luna's comments, but he was met with silence instead. "Even Luna is picking up Granger's pesky patronizing tone," he commented to no one in general. With a shrug, he opened the fridge, grabbed the pitcher of lemonade the three of them made a couple days ago, and reached for the cold glasses Hermione kept in there, reserved for their lemonade. He sat down at the little wooden breakfast table and poured himself a glass. Just as he let the cold drink touch his lips, something caught his eye. "Would you look at that, another postcard from Potter," he said nonchalantly. He set his lemonade down, casting a cooling charm around it. He picked the postcard up to inspect it and muttered, "Ah, how they're in Canada, how utterly sweet."

Waving enthusiastically from the postcard was Harry and Ginny, the famous couple who vanished a couple days after the war (with Mrs. Weasley's approval of course). They were initially going to just get away for a while, but a couple of months turned into a year, and a year into three years. Harry and Ginny only sent postcards to a select few. This time, they were in Canada, learning the fine art of extracting sap from Maple Trees. The moving picture on the postcard had Ginny looking quite fascinated by the liquid coming out from the tree; Harry looked rather stumped trying to figure it out how it worked. There was a little note scribbled next to the picture,

_Having fun in Canada._

_We're coming back soon. _

_We miss you guys!_

_Love,_

_Harry and Ginny_

_P.S. 'Mione, I saw the Prophet again, with the ferret. Still can't believe it. _

"What a pair of gits. Saying they're coming back in every single-"

"Talking to yourself isn't a good sign Malfoy."

"Merlin! Granger! When did you get over here?" Draco exclaimed as he dropped the postcard from his hand.

"I could hear your poorly whispered grumblings from the couch. You know that they're my best friends right?" replied Hermione as she sat down on the opposite chair.

"I know, I know! But I thought I was number one in your heart Granger. Looks like I'm going to get demoted by these pair of wankers," mocked Draco.

"Don't call them wankers!" Hermione furiously whispered, remembering that Luna was still asleep.

Smirking at Hermione, Draco filled another glass of lemonade and slid it towards her. After she took a big sip, she rubbed her temple and said,

"You're going to have to meet them soon. Believe it or not, I would like for you to get along with them."

With a sigh, Draco replied, "I will be nice, but they have to be nice too."

"Oh Malfoy, you're like a little boy sometimes… all the time," Hermione chuckled.

Draco gave her an injured look. "Yes, yes, but this 'little boy' here insisted that you put one more tablespoon of sugar in the lemonade," he took a big gulp from his glass, "and would you look at that! It tastes better, even YOU have to admit it."

After staring at each other for a few moments, with a huff, she gave in, "Fine, it does taste better." They both finished the lemonade and stared at the postcard between them. Hermione let out a long sigh and looked away from the picture of the happy couple. Draco crossed his arms and tilted his chair back,

"How was your date? Mine sucked, and I think yours did too."

"Thank you for assuming the worst and I am ecstatic that your date didn't end well," Hermione said while mimicking his stance.

"You know what I mean Granger," he stated while keeping steady eye contact.

Hermione looked away, "You're right… it sucked. It sucked so bad that I said I had to go to the restroom and I just left! I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank Merlin he doesn't work in London. That means I don't have to run into him again!"

Draco couldn't hold back a snort, "So you just left him there? Give the man a break-"

"He told me he worked in Human Resources, the _wizarding _world kind. Do you have any idea…"

"Goodness Granger, sure know how to pick 'em. From what I've heard, those blokes are a bunch of tossers," he said with a frown, "You could do better."

"You ALWAYS say that, but everyone knows that I'm a workaholic and that I-"

"Let's not do this tonight okay?" he gently said while putting his hand on her wrist. "You're just going to go on and on about how you'll never find a decent man, and I'm just going to tell you why you are utterly mistaken." Draco leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "So get that bushy head of yours to bed and get your beauty sleep. Merlin knows you need it."

"Thanks, but will you ever be able to console me without insulting me in order to preserve your bad boy Slytherin façade?" Hermione asked with a tired laugh.

Draco stood from his chair and shook his head, "This is no façade Granger, it's the real thing. Now seriously, go to bed, it's getting late."

Hermione rose from her chair and smiled, "Goodnight. I hope that Samantha girl doesn't sneak her way into your room and molest you in bed."

"That's really funny Granger. Now I have to strengthen my wards," groaned Draco, "Do it for me?"

"In your dreams Malfoy, now get to your room, lock the door, and sleep! I better not see you sitting at my table demanding breakfast again," she said with an annoyed glare.

With a smirk Draco replied, "Wouldn't dream of it," and walked out the door quietly.

After Draco and Hermione retreated to their respective rooms, Luna, still on the couch smiled, "I knew it was a good idea to interview Draco," and fell back asleep. Who knew that one interview for the Quibbler would cascade into a series of happenings that led the trio into an odd friendship.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

Draco walked over to his flat, all the way across the hall, and sat on his counter, liking the feeling of the cool granite top against his bottom. Thinking about what Hermione said about Samantha, he levitated his black bookshelf in front of his door for good measure. Sure, everyone had wards, but no one could be too careful- a paranoid idea drilled into his head since the war. The war was three years ago, but for Draco, it felt like a whole decade. Never in his life did he see himself buddy-buddy with Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood. He still remembered the day that changed everything.

_Two years ago…_

Hermione gently pushed her parents into the red telephone booth, "For the hundredth time mum, it's safe."

"Yes, but why can't you go first with your father or something?" Mrs. Granger demanded more so than asked.

"Because then you wouldn't even get in." Hermione glanced at her watch, "It's almost 1:30, we're going to be late."

"Honey, let's just get this over with," said Mr. Granger looking nervously around the tiny booth.

"Thank you dad, the code is 62442," Hermione said as she glanced at her watch again, "Just pick up the phone and put in the number dad. And mum, Kingsley will be there when you guys arrive, so just follow him. I'll be right behind you!" Hermione smiled as best she could as her parents descended.

Today was the day her parents had to tell, Kingsley about their time in Australia during the war. Hermione just wanted to make sure her parents' memories were unharmed, and make sure they encountered no one suspicious. Even after Voldemort's death, one couldn't be too sure. Hermione bounced nervously on her heels as she waited for the next empty payphone. Despite Kingsley repeatedly telling her that she did what had to be done, it still didn't appease her guilt, even if the assurance came from the minister himself. With a quiet _ding, _the telephone booth was ready, and Hermione got in. Just as she was going to shut the door, she heard someone shouting,

"Wait, wait! Please! I can't be late!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. She was almost late as well, and she would be damned if someone _actually _made her late. She was about to finally close the door, a mass of white blonde hair got in the way. "Are you out of your mind?" she scolded, "Get in then."

"Thank you very much, I do appre-" the stranger stopped talking all of the sudden, and Hermione looked up.

She let out a little yelp when she saw who it was. There he was, Draco Malfoy, slightly panting and looking just as shocked as she was. Gaping at him, she squeaked out, "You're… welcome?"

Draco blinked hard a couple of times, trying to gather his thoughts. He stuttered, "Um, th-the code? Entrance code?" as he reached for the phone behind her.

"Y-Yes. The code." Hermione went stiff as if someone hit her with a body-bind curse as she became aware of just how small the booth was. Regaining her wits, she started to cast a wandless extension charm on the telephone booth. She was almost finished when she heard him,

"_Shit."_ Draco started to frantically push all the buttons, until he slammed the phone died, and muttered, "It broke."

"It _WHAT?_" Hermione abruptly turned around and tried it for herself. "I can't believe it. I'm late, and my parents are going to freak out if I don't show up, and it's Kingsley for heaven's sake! I can't be late! I'm always punct-"

"Did you try casting a wandless spell in here Granger?" Draco incredulously asked.

Hermione stared at the phone and tugged at the ends of her beige scarf, "Why, yes I did."

"Fuck. You broke it."

"_I broke _it? Excuse me, but I did not do such a thing _Malfoy_!"

"Yes you did. Try to use one of your fancy wandless spells in one of these, it's going to break _Granger_."

"_WELL, don't blame_-"

"I'm surprised the so-called, brightest witch of our age, didn't know that little fact," he mocked.

"_How DARE _you mock me, you little pasty white ferr-"

"_Don't. you. Dare." _

Both of them were livid. Stuck in a tiny telephone booth, with the tension thick as smoke, she glared up at him; with anger ablaze in her eyes just to be faced with the most severe pair of grey eyes she has ever seen. However, the silent battle was halted when a voice pierced through the air,

"Hermione, Draco, what an odd coincidence. Why are you two in the booth together?"

"Luna?" both Hermione and Draco exclaimed simultaneously.

Luna took in the scene before her and smiled gently, "Yes?"

With a huff, Hermione asked, "Luna, could you please let someone in the Ministry know that the guest entrance is stuck?" She glanced at Draco and added, "Also, could you inform them that Malfoy and I are trapped in here as well?"

"Of course, good to see you again Draco," and with that, Luna skipped away.

Hermione let out a deep breath and rested her forehead against the cool glass. She was brainstorming different insults to hurl at the git next to her when his voice broke her thoughts,

"Look Granger, I'm sorry, it's just that I was late for something really important and –"

"It's alright Malfoy," she sighed, "Guess we're stuck." With that, she turned around and actually looked at him this time. Surprisingly, he wasn't a lanky boy anymore. He still was oddly pale, but it wasn't a ghostly pale. Wearing a crisp, long sleeve button down with a slim, black tie, with a pair of black trousers, Draco Malfoy looked quite, normal.

"Yeah, I guess we are," he replied while running his fingers through his hair. He looked down at Hermione. He was wearing a thick white cardigan, beige scarf, and black jeans, to Draco, she looked exactly the same; except for the fact that her hair was in a long, straight ponytail. For some reason, he felt compelled to strike a conversation with her, whether from how he treated her at school or which side he stood on during the war, he didn't care. So, he took in a deep breath, extended his right hand out, and tried speak in a steady voice,

"Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy,"

Bewildered, Hermione slowly uncrossed her arms and extended her right hand. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger," and for some reason, she couldn't help but smile the faintest of smiles, at this very strange encounter.

Draco was nestled in the corner of the telephone booth facing Hermione. "Office of Misinformation, I always thought you would do something with magical creatures or something like that."

Hermione shrugged, "Yeah, I was for about a year, but it just didn't feel like a good match for me." She shifted around trying to get more comfortable, and her black flats accidentally scraped against his sleek Italian loafers.

"Merlin! My shoes! Are you daft woman?" His eyes were wide with disgust; Hermione would've laughed if it weren't for his booming voice reverberating off of the glass.

Jumping at his outburst, she couldn't believe it, "Are you serious? I barely touched your bloody shoes! You're still such a-" She stopped talking when she saw Draco grinning. Fed up, she crossed her arms in front of her, "Why are you grinning?"

Draco just kept looking at her for a couple of seconds and chuckled, "I was only kidding Granger. Still think I'm a spoiled albino prat." He saw her opening her mouth again, and kept going, "I thought _you _were supposed to be the forgiving one," pointing in her direction.

She huffed. "I don't appreciate how you're insinuating that you are more forgiving than me. What the hell did I do that is in dire need of _your_ forgiveness?"

"Well, for starters," he said crossing his arms, "You did your fair share of bullying too." He straightened up a bit to his full height and looked down at her, "I believe it was _you _who embarrassed me saying that I bought myself onto the quidditch team. I'm actually a decent flyer if you must know. So I, Draco Malfoy, forgive the almighty, Hermione Granger."

"And I, Hermione Granger, will put your ludicrous forgiveness on hold." She looked at her watch and groaned, "It's been fifteen minutes; I hope Luna did get some help."

"I'm sure she did. So, what do you do in the Office of Misinformation?"

"Well, I make sure that every dubious events caused by magic in the muggle world are explained, my liaison being the prime minister of England."

He let out a long whistle, "Wow. Sounds like quite the important job. Since the war is still fresh and all. You're perfect for it."

"Um, thanks Malfoy. So, you still haven't told me what you do."

"I did Granger, I fix magical items."

"I know, but what kind of items? Who employs you?"

"Merlin, I've stepped into the Spanish Inquisition."

"Y-You know about muggle-"

He glanced at her surprised face. "Don't ask, I'm not as ignorant as people make me out to be."

Hermione nodded and he went on,

"Kingsley hired me a couple months after the war, seeing that I, umm, had fixed something that was rather hard to fix. He owls me whenever there's something that needs to be fixed. I insisted on his discretion." He finished nervously, hoping that she wouldn't catch on. But of course, she did.

"The Vanishing Cabinet… Kingsley actually _trusts _you?" Hermione pursed her lips and frowned.

Frustrated, Draco threw his hands in the air, "Do I actually _look_ evil to you Granger? You and I have been stuck in this bloody booth for thirty minutes. If you haven't noticed, I haven't used the M word or hurt a single hair on your pretty little head."

"You were a Death Eater Malfoy." retorted Hermione, clearly enunciating every word. "What am I supposed to think? Whether it was your choice or not, you were affiliated with the very people that abhorred people like me, so forgive me if I seem to be wary of your actions."

"What was I supposed to do! Run away from the Death Eaters' headquarters and knock on the Orders' door with cookies and tea? They WOULDN'T have taken me in! "

"You could've TRIED. You could've TRIED Malfoy!"

"No. Not when lives are on the line Granger."

Hermione stopped talking and actually looked at him. His pale face was flushed and she could see his chest rising and falling rapidly. Looking into his eyes, she could've sworn they were slightly watery, but she knew for a fact that the old Malfoy wasn't there. He was different. He sounded sincere.

"Look, I shouldn't have judged you like that. It all seems surreal right now. Being stuck in a telephone booth with you and having an actual conversation," she chuckled, "it is sort of crazy."

He gave her a tired laugh, "Believe me, this is definitely the strangest day ever."

After a long silence, Draco cleared his throat, "Let me show you Granger. I'll prove to you somehow that I AM different and that I have changed."

Hermione slightly grinned, "I'll show you Malfoy, that I'm different too. You and Harry were neck to neck for that snitch if I recall."

With a clunk, the telephone booth began to descend again. Losing his balance, Draco lurched forward into Hermione.

"Hermione! I didn't crush you did I?" He pushed off of the glass and looked her over.

Flustered, she shook her head, "No, no I'm fine." She smoothed down her cardigan and rearranged her scarf. "You know, you said my name, for the first time."

The booth descended to the floor of the Ministry and opened with a ding. "I did?" He asked while they stepped out together to the marble floor. However, they came to a halt and tensed when they saw their parents. They both exclaimed,

"Mum, dad!"

"Mother, father."

Mrs. Granger spoke first, "Hermione dear! We just finished with Kingsley. Don't worry, Luna told us everything."

"Oh, that's a relief then," said Hermione as she glanced over to Draco. Lucius looked stiff and uncomfortable in his black robes while Narcissa, adorned in her finest pearls in an emerald cloak, had her hand gently, but firmly around his arm. Hermione stood there awkwardly, as did Draco. With a sliver of a smile, Narcissa spoke evenly,

"Draco dear, aren't you going to introduce us to your new… friend?"

Draco most ineloquently sputtered, "O-Of course mother. Uh, Granger, this is my mother and father, Mrs. and Mr. Malfoy."

Hermione politely shook hands with Narcissa, but gave Lucius a defiant glare as she shook his. "Well, Malfoy, this is my mum and dad, Mrs. And Mr. Granger."

The Grangers gave a warm hello and a smile, while the Malfoys simply nodded in acknowledgment.

Determined to get out of the awkward situation, Hermione began to usher her parents back in the telephone booth. "We can't be late for our dinner tonight! We should go now." As her parents began their ascent back to muggle London, Hermione turned around and was surprised to see Mrs. Malfoy and Draco right behind her.

"Please Miss Granger, call me Narcissa," with a wink towards Draco, Narcissa gracefully walked back to her husband.

"Sorry about that Granger, that was awkward."

"Yeah, don't worry about it Malfoy."

"Right. So, see you around?" asked Draco while he glanced back at his parents.

Hermione nodded, "Yup, I'll see you around."

With an awkward wave and a genuine smile, Draco Malfoy turned and walked towards his family while Hermione looked on. She muttered to herself, "Who knew that Malfoy could smile?" and stepped in the telephone booth, with her mood, strangely a little lighter.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you guys again for the lovely reviews and alerts! It means so much to me. Enjoy! **

Draco shot out of bed when his muggle alarm went off with a shrill. Groaning, he groped around for the alarm with his right hand and brought it close to his face, "Only nine?" Squinting, he twisted the knob in the back to prolong his beauty sleep for another 30 minutes. Just as he slightly shifted to his right to put the alarm clock back down on the night stand, the silver block came crashing down on his face with a dreadful thud. "Bloody, fucking.." he growled as he jerked off his covers and stomped out of his room. Still mumbling some choice curse words, muggle ones he picked up from Granger, he went into his bathroom, and just brushed his teeth and washed his face with water.

Shirtless and just in his black pajama bottoms, he walked across the empty hall. His grogginess slowly dissipated, thanks to the joy he would get from seeing someone's frizzy bed head and grumpy disposition. It was quite addictive, so he did this, almost every morning. With a boyish grin, he unceremoniously burst through Granger's flat and bellowed,

"Get your skinny arse out of bed or else I'll-"

His nose knew before his eyes. The lovely aroma of crispy bacon, pancakes, and freshly squeezed orange juice floated to his nose, and his eyes widened at the sight of Granger, neatly arranging it on the table for three. Eyes bulging, he managed to sputter, "Is it my birthday today Granger? Usually, you tell me to get lost and throw a bag of frozen waffles at me."

Wiping her hands on her hideous purple apron, completed with white ruffles and artificial flowers glued everywhere, she scolded, "Took you long enough to get here." She placed three glasses filled with orange juice, "Make yourself useful instead of standing there like some kind of idiot!"

"Of course, bullying me before the sun even rises," he muttered under his breath. With a huff, Draco opened the silverware drawer, and took out the silver fork and knives. The ones with dragons engraved because after all, he did buy those for her. He thought it was a nice touch compared to her boring, plain silverware, but Hermione always complained that they were too _inappropriate _for the table. Placing them discreetly on the table, he made a grand gesture at the table. "I did my part, now what's all this for? Where's Luna?"

"You'll find out soon enough." She finally looked up, horrified. "Merlin! Put on a damn shirt Malfoy!"

"Oh please, Luna likes it this way," he scoffed while gesturing towards his chest.

"You only think that because she's the only one who compliments-"

"Good morning Hermione and Draco," Luna chimed from the doorway.

"Luna!" Hermione exclaimed while crushing her in a hug. "You're here!"

"Why yes I am. Glad to see that you're finally wearing the apron I got you Hermione," she said with a faraway look. "And Draco, as always, your pecs are coming into excellent shape. They are quite nice."

Draco smirked, "Told you Granger. Thanks Luna. Now, will somebody tell me what the occasion is?"

Hermione's eyes lit up and clapped her hands together. "Luna's moving in with me today!" Luna put her hands in their air, did a little wave, and mouthed, _yay._

Confused, he pointed at Luna and then the floor. "Wait… Luna, I haven't you been… _living _here?"

Hermione scoffed and retorted, "And you've known us for… how long?"

"Well, I am always here in the morning and leave late at night," quipped Luna.

Draping his arm around Luna, he proudly remarked, "See, at least _she's _on my side."

Fed up, Hermione tightly smiled, "I think we should get this breakfast started! I did make this all, the _muggle _way."

At that, Draco's eyes lit up, "What are we waiting for? Let's eat!" He plopped down in a chair, and stuffed a pancake in his mouth, "Yao gno gat I wuv yo phoo."

Genuinely smiling, the girls sat down and Hermione smirked, "Yes Malfoy. I know that you love my food."

After an exceptionally large breakfast, filled with pleasant conversation and content silence, Luna was the first to get up.

"Thanks for the lovely breakfast Hermione," said Luna while levitating her plate to the sink. "But I must check on the Quibbler. We're working on an article about invisible kneazles right now."

Stifling a yawn, Draco stretched his arms over his head. "But it's a _Saturday _morning Luna."

"Even more the reason to work, is it not?" Luna beamed at Hermione.

Hermione stared at Draco, while she jibed, "Exactly Luna. I'm glad that somebody finally appreciates my work ethics."

Not wanting to ruin his good mood, he got up lazily from his chair. "It was a marvelous breakfast with you ladies, but I must nestle back in my bed and digest my food there." Giving Luna and Hermione quick pecks on the cheek, he hurriedly went back to his flat.

Luna finished levitating all the plates to the sink and began to wash them magically. "I'll be back later with my belongings Hermione. If you need help with your case with the Diricawls, I'll be more than happy to help."

"Thanks Luna, I'll let you know. Goodluck!" Hermione gave a little wave as Luna went to the hallway and apparated from there.

Taking the apron off, Hermione finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Furnished with a simple white fridge, white stove, and green-ish cabinets that Draco and Luna painted, it was modest, but she liked it. The rest of her flat was quite simple. The orange couch matched with orange side tables, a little glass coffee table, a shell lamp made by Luna, and the telly were the only items in the "living room." The only other piece of furniture was her light beige desk, facing towards the window, overlooking muggle London. Even though the flat wasn't as lavish and modern as Draco's, she loved it because it was hers and away from the wizarding world.

Putting her hair up into a messy bun, she looked at her stack of papers with dread. Yes, she liked to work, but sometimes, even for Hermione Granger, it was too much. She plopped down on her chair, spread the files across her desk, and began to read. Her latest assignment was on Diricawls. According to the files, they have been recently roaming around the muggle world, with a particular affinity for peoples' backyards. Muggles knew them as dodos, which according to them were extinct. However, the Diricawls just simply turned invisible and roamed around the less inhabited areas of England. It was her job, as the head of the Office of Misinformation, to explain its origins and devise a plan to pass it off as nothing of suspicion to the poor people who thought they were hallucinating, seeing extinct animals.

She was jotting down ideas, when she heard pecking at the window. The first owl was Malfoy's; it read: _I decided the three of us are going out for drinks tonight. Whenever you to crazy women get done with your work. By the way, take a break Granger! I can feel your focused aura from here!_

The next owl was one she hadn't seen before, carefully untying the letter from its leg, she opened it: _Hope the owl didn't peck at you! It was quite fussy when Ginny tried to tie this letter to its bloody leg. Anyways, there is a reason for sending a letter instead of a postcard. Don't freak out 'Mione, okay? Ginny and I are coming back sometime next week! I know, it's random, but please don't get angry! We have reason for coming back, and I think you'll be pretty excited! I'll send another letter with more details later! Enough rambling, Ginny sends her love! See you soon, love Harry._

Surprised, Hermione read the letter for the third time. So many thoughts were racing through her mind. They were coming back? What was the reason? What if Ginny's pregnant? The press are going to have a field day. She let out a groan when she realized what the biggest problem would be, Harry and Ginny's reaction to Malfoy. Sure, they knew via postcard and the Daily Prophet that they were friends, but she wasn't so sure about Harry and Malfoy _actually _getting along. All of the sudden, going out for drinks sounded like the perfect plan.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello! To previous readers: This is what would have been chapter 6! But I decided to reorganize some chapters so it's more cohesive! So now, it's chapter 4! I hope I didn't confuse anyone! I also have a wonderful beta, magic-never-dies, so all of the embarrassing typos and mistakes should be gone. Thoughts and comments are much appreciated! Once again, thank you for all the reviews! Happy reading! :)**

Fifteen pages, six hours, and three owls from Draco later, Hermione emerged from the bathroom in her soft pink robe and fluffy white towel twisted on top of her head. Letting out a deep breath, she made her way to her closet. Draco's last owl explicitly told her to dress up and be ready by eight sharp, _en pile_. Pouting a little, Hermione began to shuffle through her more formal dresses hung in the back corner of her closet. Deciding on the one shoulder black dress that reached right above her knees, she tugged it off of the hanger.

"Nice choice. Although, you wear too much black already."

"I know Malfoy, but it's comfortable and," she stopped and turned around to see Draco leaning against the door frame. She rolled her eyes and quickly turned back around. "Wow, you're getting good at this. I didn't even hear you come in."

Smirking, he stood up straight. "Glad you noticed. How come you don't use the robe I got you for your birthday? Too sexy for the prude?"

Looking slightly offended, Hermione retorted, "That silky robe isn't practical. I-It shows… a little too much." But with a sly smile, she continued, "But it is quite useful in the bedroom. Who knew that leaving it on would be just so, _delightful_."

He shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "I changed my mind; I like your pink one better. Don't forget-eight." With that, he hurriedly turned around and went back to his own flat. Letting out a huff, he muttered, "And everyone thinks that I slut around."

Draco was tapping his feet impatiently against his white carpet. "Merlin, what is taking her so long?"

Lying down on his black leather sofa, Luna opened her eyes and peeked at Draco. "A little anxious are we?"

"No, not anxious Luna, I scheduled for us to floo at-"

"Eight, I know Draco. We must be going somewhere really, really nice tonight." Getting up, Luna smiled and nodded approvingly.

He straightened out his silver and emerald striped tie for the tenth time. "I'm about to drag Granger over here."

A little flushed, Hermione burst through the flat and dumped a pile of shoes onto the floor. "Before you say anything, sorry Malfoy if my heels scratch your precious wooden floor and sorry again! I just couldn't decide!"

Luna chuckled and walked towards the heap of stilettos, flats, and pumps. She picked up a pair of patent yellow heels with thick black stripes wrapping around, "How about these? They're my favorite, reminds me of buzzlebees."

Frustrated, Draco stomped over to the pile, picked up the first pair of decent heels, and shoved them into Hermione's arms. "Bloody hell woman! We're going to be late!" Ushering Hermione and Luna into the fireplace, the fireplace chimed precisely at eight o'clock. "Hold onto me ladies, we're going somewhere different tonight," he said confidently as they vanished into the green flames.

With a whoosh, the trio landed in a dank room piled with dust and cobwebs. Coughing a little, Luna waved her wand to remove the dust from their clothes. Unfazed by the setting, she straightened out her long, shimmery, daisy yellow dress and readjusted her straps. "Well, this certainly is different Draco, reminds me of Knockturn Alley." With a thoughtful glance around, she added, "I'm not sure if Hermione would like to eat here though."

Draco helped Hermione up, who was on the floor trying to put on the strappy crimson red heels. "Trying to kill my feet? These shoes are a nightmare."

"Your fault for bringing them into my flat," Draco retorted as he made his way towards the wooden door. As soon as the three of them were in the alley, Draco smirked proudly. "Before you hurl needless questions at me, we flooed here so we won't attract attention from the muggles."

Hermione ran her hands through her curls and placed them on her right shoulder. Stepping a little closer to him, she asked "Where exactly are we Malfoy?"

Draco held out his arms for Luna and Hermione. Luna excitedly latched on while Hermione rolled her eyes and did the same. Stepping out onto the beautifully lit street with the musky scent of cigarettes, he announced, "Welcome to Paris _mademoiselles_."

Hermione's eyes widened and gaped. "You brought us to France? Merlin, how did you set up your floo so quickly?"

He shrugged. "How many times do I have to tell you that Kingsley personally owls me for my assistance? I just owled him this afternoon for a favor, and when I mentioned you, he was more than happy to oblige."

Luna jumped up excitedly and turned to the pair. "We should quit wasting time talking and explore! Plus, we're with the muggles! No one from the Prophet we need to worry about."

Nodding along, Hermione chimed, "Brilliant. I don't know about you two, but I'm starved." Playfully leaning against Draco, she remarked, "I'm absolutely positive that Malfoy here has arranged a lovely dinner. Am I right?"

Draco scoffed, "I have reservations for _La Closerie des Lilas_ so don't get your granny knickers in a twist.

"Judging by Hermione's dress, she definitely is not wearing granny knickers." Luna thoughtfully added, "Probably no knickers at all." With that, she slipped her arm from Draco's, threw Hermione a little wink, and skipped off towards the restaurant.

Taken aback by the image that flashed across his eyes, Draco couldn't help himself but to look at Hermione, who was surely, equally perturbed by the comment. He teased, "Well, well, I can't believe that you get embarrassed over a little comment about your undergarments when earlier, you divulged your kinky robe preferences."

Flustered, Hermione took a step back, with her heel, unfortunately getting stuck in a little rut making her wobble for a second. "I am most certainly not embarrassed Malfoy."

"Give it a rest Granger. I could feel you getting hot through my suit." With that, Draco gave her a mock salute and quickly caught up with Luna.

A little warm from the thick evening air, Hermione reached into her small gold chained black purse that was slung on her right shoulder and rummaged around for a hair tie. Carefully tying her hair, she began to walk. Still a bit disturbed by Luna's keen discernment, she breathed in and out, trying to think of neutral images to clear her mind. A couple of breaths later, Hermione relaxed somewhat. Although tonight was a frivolous affair, numerous thoughts were dampening her mood, especially Harry's letter. It couldn't be anything too serious since his tone was rather light and optimistic, so she mentally crossed off eminent danger from her list. Draco and Harry were also another concern. Strangely enough, she was more worried about Harry's reaction. Contemplating sending Harry an owl telling him to behave himself sounded very Hermione Granger-esque, but only a fraction of her letters actually got to them, most of the owls she sent out came back, with her letters untouched. Her thoughts were disturbed as someone bumped her left shoulder.

"_Je m'excuse mademoiselle!"_

"_Ce n'est pas grave."_ Hermione turned around to face the stranger, but she was met by a pair of dark, curious eyes. The tall, dark, and uniquely handsome stranger gave her a puzzling look. Confused, just as she was going to say something, the stranger hurriedly spoke.

"_J'espère que vous avez une merveilleuse soirée !_ » And with that, he disappeared within the crowd.

The face looked familiar, but it was dark out and a lot of people could look similar in the dark. As she neared her friends, she pushed those thoughts back as far as she could. It was nothing a couple of drinks couldn't fix, but she wanted to enjoy herself, preferably, with as little intoxication as possible. She saw Luna waving and quickened her pace.

Luna linked arms with Hermione. "Finally you're here. Let's get seated!"

As Draco cleared his throat, a burly man with dark hair and a peculiarly large nose clapped enthusiastically at the sight of the group.

"Ah _Monsieur Malfoi_! Welcome to La Closerie des Lilas! Follow me right this way!" With an exaggerated bow, he led them to their table. Giving Draco a nudge, he proudly said, "I've reserved the corner spot just for you _ce soir_. I know that you like privacy, especially with these two exquisite ladies."

Draco chuckled. "It's not like _that _Francois, but that table sounds wonderful."

As they were being led to their table, Hermione and Luna gushed about the atmosphere.

"Luna, have you ever been somewhere like this? It's just so… so stunning. And the lightning! It's so dim, but it sets such an ambience!"

"It is exquisite. It smells wonderful too. I do like the energy of this place."

They navigated through the tables filled with lively conversation, the sound of wine trickling into glasses, and the occasional hushed giggles coming from couples throughout. Finally reaching their spot, a snug round table tucked in a corner where the conversations were a little dampened, Draco promptly ordered wine.

"What shall it be tonight_ Monsieur_? I know you fancy our wines from Burgundy, but for the ladies, I think Bordeaux might be more fitting."

"How about a bottle of the Château Hosanna Pomero, I do hope you have that one."

Slightly offended, Francois replied, "Of course we do! We only have the best, _les meilleures vins á Paris!_"

"Perfect. And as far as our meal goes, I trust your judgment Francois. This is their first time, so I hope you'll prepare something that they will remember."

With a hearty smile and a little bow, Francois hurried to the kitchen.

Gently placing the white napkin onto her lap, Hermione smiled at Draco. "You must come here a lot. Francois seems to absolutely adore you."

Shrugging off his black blazer, he replied, "My family and I have been coming here since I was a little kid. Our little escape, for when we wanted to get away from nosy witches and wizards."

Luna propped her elbows up on the table and rested her chin on her hands. "When my father and I wanted to get away, we would go searching for nargles." Smiling, she chimed, "You guys did promise to come along next weekend. The leaves on our dirigible plums have been changing color; I know that we'll definitely see some." Luna turned to Hermione, patiently waiting for an answer.

Hermione smiled nervously and fidgeted with the silverware. "Well… You see Luna… that really really does sound like fun, but I have so much to do for work. You know that I work on the weekends too." Silently thanking the dim lighting, she continued, "But you know that Draco is free on the weekends! I'm positive that he would love to accompany you."

Luna turned her focus to Draco. "It'll be fun. Don't you think so?"

"Um… Yes it will. It will be a marvelous adventure." Draco kicked Hermione under the table and smirked when she let out a little yelp.

After everyone's first glass of wine, the mood lightened, and everyone was in a jovial mood. They discussed nothing of great importance. Draco talked about redecorating his flat into a homier atmosphere. And when Draco began to discuss his silk sheets, Luna went into great detail about her latest conquests in bed.

"The last one was quite vanilla. You would think that being from South America, he would be a little more energetic. I'm not complaining though. He was indeed firm all over and very kind."

Hermione sipped her wine. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun in the evening Luna. But I won't have to worry about any disturbances at night… right?"

At that comment, Luna uncharacteristically scoffed. "Of course not! You do know that a simple muffliato will do it, right Hermione?"

With a chuckle, Draco shook his head and waved the waiter over for some more wine. Leaning back on his chair, he took a moment to just look at his friends who were now finishing their entrées in a comfortable silence. He was happy. He was actually content. He finally found somebody who put up with his… well, slightly prat-ish attitude. Befriending Luna was definitely a strange affair. A couple months after the war, he was at the Ministry on the way to see Kingsley, and Luna approached him as if she did it every day. He had nothing against her. Yes, she was strange, but it seemed like she didn't judge. Even if she was in the Malfoy dungeons for quite some time, she approached him as she did any others, with the same dream like demeanor.

"Draco Malfoy, good to see you again."

Draco stopped in his tracks and looked down at Luna. "Oh, um hello Luna." He glanced at her overly large orange flowered headband, her somewhat normal black converse, his shoes and at the floor, at anything but Luna's persistent gaze.

Reaching into her lime green bag, Luna pulled out a copy of the Quibbler and held it in front of Draco. "I'm doing an article about reformed Death Eaters." Not noticing Draco tensing up, she continued, "If I could interview you, I would certainly appreciate it. And of course, the numerous readers."

Slowly taking the Quibbler, for some reason, Draco replied, "I don't see why not."

Luna beamed. "Lovely, I'll owl you later today so we can set up a date. See you soon Draco."

"Yeah sure, see you." Draco tucked the Quibbler under his left arm and just watched Luna walk away like talking to him was nothing out of the ordinary. It was also fascinated him that she used the word Death Eater like she was describing her favorite pastry. An interview seemed harmless enough, thinking that no one really read the magazine anyways. He was fixated on the feathery headband Luna was wearing when she turned around and said just loud enough for him to hear.

"Don't worry, people really do read the Quibbler. It's quite popular."

A little embarrassed, Draco scratched his head and went over to Kingsley's office. After fixing the entrance to the Department of Mysteries, surely enough, a brown owl was perched in front of the Manor. What he thought was an uneventful interview turned out to be quite consequential. He had no clue that Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood were friends, but what surprised him the most was the fact that upon showing Hermione the interview, Luna insisted that he was changed and now, a good man.

He broke out of his reverie when he felt someone nudging his shoulder.

"Hellooo? Did you hear anything we said Malfoy?"

Sitting straight in his chair and taking a sip of wine, he replied, "Sorry Granger, what did you say?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, we were wondering what you wanted for dessert."

"Dessert? Scarfed down your five course meal already Granger?"

Sticking her tongue out slightly, she retorted, "Well, I won't have you ruin this evening, so on with it Malfoy!"

Luna looked up from the intricate designs of the silverware. "Yes, some chocolate mousse does sound delicious."

Like magic, Francois appeared from nowhere, armed with an enormous tray of desserts. "I do hope that everyone has room for dessert! Take your pick ladies!"

With no hesitation, Luna grabbed the glass bowl filled with decadent chocolate mousse.

"Everything looks so delicious! Honestly, I can't decide." Hermione perused every dessert on the large tray and finally settled on the Crème Caramel.

Glimpsing at Hermione, who was still eyeing the dessert, Draco made his pick. "I'll take the raspberry sorbet, the lemon and raspberry _dacquoise_, and _la tarte aux fraises_."

Luna licked the remaining chocolate from her spoon. "Isn't that one dessert too many Draco?"

"Not at all, I just wanted the raspberry sorbet." Draco playfully pointed to Hermione who was ravishing her dessert. "The rest is for that starved beast. Oh don't give me that look Granger. I saw you eyeing all those, and I thought I would do you a favor." He pushed the remaining desserts towards Hermione.

* * *

Three hours later, Hermione kicked off her shoes upon arriving back at Draco's flat. "I can't believe you guys convinced me to go on a nice long walk along _la Seine_." She picked up her shoes and headed towards the door. "I'm going to change."

Shrugging off his jacket and taking off his tie, Draco mimicked Hermione's voice. "Oh Malfoy, thank you SO MUCH for this delightful evening! You're so kind for taking us all the way to _Paris _for dinner!"

"I can still hear you Malfoy!" Hermione yelled from the hall.

Luna cocked her head to the side. "Are you alright Draco? Your voice seems to be getting a bit squeaky."

Draco began to unbutton his shirt. "The least she could do was thank me or acknowledge my efforts in treating you guys to a nice evening. It's been a while since we went out like that."

"Yes well, last time, the Prophet had a field day and kept insinuating that we were having nightly _ménage a trois._ If you didn't notice Draco, you guys hardly argued," Luna said as she watched Draco throw his shirt on the counter top.

He unbuckled his belt when he realized Luna was giving him a curious look. He remarked sarcastically, "By all means, you're free to stay around and watch me strip Luna- won't even cost you a knut."

She let out a little squeal and perched on top of the counter. "I am most certainly thankful for this evening Draco." She finished with a saucy wink, "I have always admired your chiseled body."

"While I do admit that my body is quite-" He was cut off by loud scream. Pulling a grey shirt that Luna tossed over his head, the two ran over to Hermione's flat. There she was, with a letter scrunched up in her left hand and a white owl hiding behind the orange couch. Draco almost let out a little laugh, but when Hermione whipped around and Draco saw her expression, he wouldn't dare.

Luna slowly approached the white owl and gently petted its head. "Isn't this Harry and Ginny's?" She went over to the cupboard to find a treat for the poor owl. "Why are you so upset Hermione?"

Taking in a deep breath, Hermione plopped down on the couch. "Well for starters, this wasn't addressed to me; it was addressed to you Luna." Getting increasingly agitated, Hermione continued. "Harry explicitly stated that he did NOT want me to see this."

Draco carefully made his way over to Hermione and sat down next to her. Taking his chances, he asked. "So, what is it that Potter wanted to keep secret?"

With a humorless laugh, Hermione screamed, "They're coming tomorrow! Tomorrow evening to be exact!" The whole room stilled. Frozen, and the silent fog of tension set in.

Luna slipped out of the fog and went to the fridge to get some lemonade. Handing two glasses to Draco, she asked in an oddly light voice, "Well, isn't this wonderful then? They're finally coming back. Rather soon, but you'll see them."

Hermione replied in a weak voice. "I-I know. But, it's just that…"

Draco handed Hermione a glass. Taking a great big gulp, he finished Hermione's thoughts in a cool, collected voice. "It's just that those two just waltzed into their little paradise, leaving you here. Now you feel bitter because you realize that they abandoned you. After the war, when you needed them the most. That's not what friends do."

Letting out a groan, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I guess you're right. I never did deal with the emotional part of it. What a surprise that I, Hermione Granger, would just bury myself with work."

Draco placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. Seeing Luna quietly slipping into the bathroom, he kissed the top of Hermione's head. "Even though it isn't a surprise, I think you dealt with it brilliantly. At least you didn't just run away, like Potty and his little girlfriend did."

Letting out a laugh, she nudged Draco. "Just because I'm a little upset at them doesn't mean you can call them names Malfoy."

Unfazed, Draco stated clear as day. "No matter what happens, we'll always be friends Granger, whether you like it or not. Who knows? Maybe I'll start calling you Hermione one day."

A little surprised from Draco's sincere response, Hermione just nodded, relaxing into his body. Realizing that she was falling asleep, she rose from the couch. "I think I'm going to change. I'll just be a second."

Watching her silently go into her room, Draco finished his lemonade. He reached for the crumpled letter on the coffee table and read it.

_Luna,_

_I know I haven't spoken directly to you in a while, but I need a favor. Promise not tell Hermione? Hermione. I'm pretty nervous about coming back, and I don't know how to tell 'Mione about it. I think it's best that at least one person knows we're coming back Sunday evening. Yes, it's rather last minute, but I don't think Ginny can wait any longer. I have a feeling that she won't be very pleased about the last minute news… And if you, 'Mione, and Malfoy are really as close the Prophet makes you guys out to be… I'm almost positive that meeting Malfoy won't go well._

_So you'll be like a liaison won't you? I have a feeling that everyone's going to take sides, and it'd be nice to know that at least one person will be neutral. I really can't believe Ginny and I are coming back. Anyways, I'll stop ranting. Merlin, I hope it goes smoothly. Thanks Luna and I'll see you tomorrow._

Draco could see why Hermione was so frustrated. Bloody Potter thinks he can have everything his way. He let out a deep breath. Harry wasn't wrong though. He was right; their first meeting wouldn't go well. Sure, he reconciled with his best friend, the smartest and most compassionate witch in the world, but that didn't mean that Potter would ever even acknowledge him as an acquaintance. But since he was Hermione's friend, he would indeed try to be civil at least. He meant what he told Hermione earlier. No matter what, he'd make sure that they stayed friends. He dropped the letter back on the table when he heard Hermione coming out of her room.

"You read the letter, didn't you."

"Mm, yes I did."

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind tomorrow."

"I'm sure you will Granger. He deserves it." Draco motioned for Hermione to sit back on the couch.

Luna emerged from the shower in a lavender night dress. "I was thinking that owls are really intelligent creatures. I only moved in with you today Hermione, and it found me here. Rather poor timing on Harry's part though."

The three of them sat on the couch in silence, each pondering what would happen tomorrow. However, that didn't last long when they heard a faint knock.

Draco jumped to his feet, cautiously making his way to the door. "Who the hell is that? Didn't you strengthen the muggle repellant charm a couple days ago Granger?"

Looking confused, Hermione nodded. "Yes, I did. That's strange… No one ever knocks because I let them floo in if I know them. But I think that the person is knocking on your door, not mine."

Drawing their wands, Hermione and Luna stood behind Draco as he flung open the door with a bang. Blinking rapidly, Draco couldn't believe his eyes. "Bloody Hell! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well fuck me. The rumors are true. You really have become best mates with the Golden Girl and Looney Lovegood."

Lowering his wand, Draco ran his hand through his hair. "Wow, what a way to say hello Blaise. I missed you too."

Hermione stepped from behind Draco and exclaimed. "Blaise? Blaise Zabini?"

Blaise chuckled and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you Hermione Granger. I am indeed Blaise Zabini, and I also ran into you earlier this evening."

"Ohhh, I knew that you looked familiar." Hermione awkwardly smiled and gestured over to Luna. "And this is _Luna_ Lovegood."

Putting on his most charming smile, he shook Luna's hand. "Pleased to finally meet you Luna."

"Pleased to meet you too Blaise. What brings you here this late evening?"

Crossing his arms, Draco looked Blaise up and down. "Yes," he drawled, "why are you here anyways? After more than a year of your dearly missed absence."

Scratching his head and losing his cool demeanor, Blaise replied. "Well, it's a long story… Um, can I crash at your flat for tonight?"

Carefully assessing his old friend, Draco shrugged. "Why not? If you found this place, it means that you asked my mother where I was. I trust my mother's judgment." Sensing Hermione's discomfort, Draco remarked. "Don't worry Granger, he's not going to try anything while you sleep. We've been mates since birth practically if that makes you feel better."

"Alright, if you say so Malfoy. You okay with it Luna?"

"I think it's an excellent idea. But first, why don't you come in Blaise? I'm sure you're tired from wherever you've come from. You must try our lemonade. It's quite delicious."

Blaise looked at Draco just waltzing into girls' flat in disbelief and shook his head. "This is seriously the strangest trio I have ever met in my life."

He stepped into flat, to be greeted by an excited Luna levitating glasses of lemonade in the air.

Luna smiled at the surprised guest. "Yes, we're an odd mix of friends, but in reality, we're just witches and wizards."

Draco casually put his arms around Hermione and smirked, "Odd is an understatement but welcome to the group mate."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello! Thank you, once again, for all the positive reviews and alerts. They definitely make my day! I had trouble deciding whether to keep the chapter I was working on as one BIG chapter or split it up. So, I finally decided to split it up—only slightly. Also, I know the Dramione development is on the slow side, but I _promise _that it'll progress in the next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

A bit past twelve thirty in the morning, it felt like a formal gathering inside Hermione's flat. Fidgeting besides Draco was Blaise, who kept glancing up at Luna and then Hermione every couple of minutes. The four of them sat, trying to keep the conversation going after the initial pleasantries. Hermione, being the gracious hostess, kept offering Blaise everything in the fridge, from kiwis to some leftover chicken salad sandwiches, every time an uncomfortable silence hung. Sure, it was somewhat pleasant for about the first fifteen minutes; Hermione asked Blaise what he was doing back in London, and how his time spent away after the war was. Wanting to leave the somewhat complicated details out, Blaise gave the easiest answer- he was with his mother in Italy, and when husband number eight died, not that it surprised anybody, he had some 'things' to take care of, which obviously, took a lot longer than he expected.

Draco listened to his friend recount the last two years, but he knew that there was more to the story than what he was telling. He didn't want to bring anything uncomfortable though, so he just sat there, nodding along, as Hermione and Luna listened intently. After everyone was done questioning, Blaise remarked.

"I really am thankful for your hospitality Hermione." Shifting in his seat, he let out a nervous chuckle. "I know that I wasn't really, um, nice, to you and just everyone in general," he glanced at Luna and continued, a little relieved to see her smile, "But I promise you guys that I've learned a lot over the past few years. And, I, uh, I'm sorry? I promise I won't be a huge burden because I'll be gone for most of the days anyways, so thanks for being so welcoming."

Rubbing her thumbs against the sides of the cool glass cup, Hermione looked Blaise in the eyes and smiled warmly. "Honestly Blaise, don't worry too much about the past. It's not like you rubbed it in my face that I was a muggle-born." She playfully frowned at Draco. "Unlike some people."

"Thanks, and just in case you never hear it from this prat," he patted Draco's back with a bit of force, "You really are something Hermione. Same goes for you Luna."

Shrugging Blaise's hand off of him, Draco muttered. "I might not say it, but I do bloody show it."

The silence settled in again, until Luna, who was oddly quiet around Blaise, stood up. "I think everyone should go to sleep now. It's almost one in the morning, and with Harry and Ginny coming in the evening, everyone should rest up." She patted Blaise on the shoulder, and headed to her room.

Choking on his lemonade, Blaise managed to sputter . "Bloody. Potter. Coming back? Fuck. Merlin. Fucking bad. Timing. For me."

Looking a little amused by his reaction, Hermione handed him some napkins. "Yes, you did pick a hell of a time to visit."

Draco rose from his seat, pulling Blaise up with him and motioning for him to leave. "We just found out not so long ago. I suggest you either hide or go out tomorrow evening." He looked over at Hermione. "Don't bother cleaning the table, I'll do it. Get some rest Granger, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Stretching her arms over her head, she walked over to the door. After bidding Blaise goodnight, she closed the door and faced Draco who was rinsing the cups in the sink. "Why is everyone deciding to come back at once?"

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, I'll be damned if Weasley waltzes over here too."

"For his sake, he better not. I'll completely lose it."

"Wouldn't blame you. I bet he's wanking in his room at night because he can't get a proper shag. Unless he's shacking up with that Brown girl. Annoying bint if you ask me."

"Now that's a disturbing image, but, annoying bint? Really Malfoy? I think you've gone soft."

"Well, I don't want you admonishing me for my language this late at night."

"Speaking of language, Blaise has quite the vocabulary doesn't he?"

Draco placed the last cup on the drying rack and wiped his hands against his pants. "That's Blaise for you. And Granger, sorry about the extra human being you have to worry about. I swear I didn't know he was even in England."

Stifling a yawn, Hermione padded towards her bedroom. "Compared to you, he's nothing." Before Draco could retort, she suggested. "You should get back. I'm positive Blaise is waiting for you, to tell you why he's really here."

When Hermione turned around to give say goodnight, Draco felt his heart clench, just a little. Rarely did he see her actually stressed and worried over anything. He decided that he didn't like it at all. "Thanks for not freaking out when you saw Blaise. He's right. You really are something."

"Thanks for that. Oh, and Malfoy?"

"Mm?"

"Thanks for tonight. It was really nice, one of the nicest evenings I've ever had." With that, she slipped into her room with a click of her door.

Upon entering his flat, Draco was greeted by Blaise sitting at the table with two glasses of firewhiskey.

Blaise finished the remainder of his glass, and motioned for Draco to join him. "You've grown up mate."

Draco sat down across from Blaise and shrugged. "Maybe." He took a sip and leaned back in the chair. Crossing his arms, he asked, "Why are you here, Blaise?"

Blaise smirked. "Can a guy not come by and visit his best friend?"

He shook his head. "Don't do that. Why are you _really _here? You don't just show up in the middle of the night and-"

"Alright, alright." All traces of jokingness gone, Blaise pulled out two envelopes from his breast pocket.

Noticing his family emblem on it, he took them from Blaise. "Why the bloody hell is one addressed to Granger? And why am I getting a letter from my mother from you?" Draco tossed them onto the table. "What's going on Blaise?"

Sensing Draco's anger, Blaise poured himself another firewhiskey and filled Draco's glass to the brim. "Drink up. You're going to need it."

* * *

Draco was livid. "So you're telling me that my _mother, _owled you yesterday to tell _you, _who's clearly not her son, that _my _father is gravely ill?" He viciously laughed. "And now I find out at bloody two in the morning that the Malfoys have been doing business with the muggles for all these years? And now since dear father is dying, he thinks he can just hand me the company, and I'll just accept it? AND YOU! I have to hear this all from YOU and a BLOODY letter!"

Not knowing what to do, Blaise pointed at Hermione's envelope. "Well, that's just an invitation to your mother's Christmas party, it's completely harmless."

That was the last straw. Draco bolted from his chair and roared. "AND MY MOTHER IS STILL THROWING THAT BLASTED PARTY? WHEN HER HUSBAND IS DYING?"

Quickly casting another silencing charm around the flat, Blaise, still sitting, just filled their glasses again. "I told you you'd need this mate. Now sit down. I'm not quite finished."

Grumbling, Draco took another swig of the firewhiskey. "You sound like my mother."

Taking a deep breath, Blaise now looked nervous. "There's a reason that it's me telling you all this Draco, why Narcissa asked me to do it." He looked Draco dead in the eye. "I'm part of the company."

Draco threw his hands in the air. "Wh-What the FUCK are you going on about?"

"Listen. No, just LISTEN to me. When I was in Italy, it's true, I was with my mother. But only because husband number eight's death had a little catch. He was working with your father, as a muggle liaison. I tried to get out of it, but hell, I wasn't doing anything productive with my life, so eventually I agreed."

"Agreed to _what?_"

"Agreed to run it with you, mate."

Draco slammed his fists down against the table, making Blaise jump, and said in a dangerously low voice. "I never agreed to _anything_. You hear me Zabini? I finally have a life that I'm satisfied with. Nothing. Nothing is going to change it."

Rubbing his face with his hands, Blaise let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I know that this is fucked up, and it seems—no, it is ridiculous. Stop glaring at me Draco! Merlin. I felt like this too okay? How do you think I fucking felt when I found out?"

"At least you don't have a father who's dying," Draco spat.

"I'm sorry; I really am. But I know you're strong, so stay that way, for your mother's sake at least," Blaise said quietly.

"Thanks. Honestly though, the timing of all this is seriously fucked up," said Draco as he dropped his forehead onto the table with a loud, thud.

"You still do that? One day, you're going to get a huge, red bump on your freakishly white forehead and bitch about it until it's gone."

Head still on the table, Draco mumbled, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Granger says the same thing."

Blaise raised his eyebrows. "Speaking of Granger… she's hot stuff. You sure you're not shagging her?"

Draco whipped his head up and growled, "Shut it. Of course I'm not! Don't talk about her like that."

"Getting a bit defensive? This is new, very new," teased Blaise.

With a huff, Draco got up. "I don't need any more shit from you tonight. You can use the spare bedroom. Use that wand of yours to good use and conjure anything you need. If you bloody wake me up for something-"

"Geez, I know!" exclaimed Blaise as he put his hands up. "Glad to see that you're still a prat."

"You bet your arse I am."

"I bet you aren't like this around Hermione," said Blaise with a smirk.

Giving him the middle finger, Draco said before going into his room, "Shut your mouth and go to bed."

Blaise finally got up and looked around Draco's spacious flat. To no one in particular he said, "It's good to be back—real good."

* * *

**I apologize for the shortness of this! The next chapter will definitely make up for it! Thank you for reading, and it would mean a lot if you guys let me know what you think! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

__**A/N: Hello readers! Once again, thank you all VERY much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I know I say this every time, but it really does mean a lot to me, so thank you! **

**It's the moment we've all been waiting for! This chapter was very fun to write, so I really do hope you enjoy this! **

* * *

_Cuckoo. Cuckoo._

Hermione groaned and flipped over on her bed.

_Cuckoo. Cuckoo._

Throwing her pillow over her head, she let out a groan. "Bloody… is that Luna's alarm clock?" She stayed still for a couple of moments, and when she didn't hear any more noises, she slowly lifted the pillow off and rolled to her side.

_Cuckoo. Cuckoo._

"Ugh what the BLOODY HELL is that THING!" Hermione shot off the bed to find the noise, but let out a scream when she ran into something-someone.

"Good afternoon Hermione! I thought I'd wake you up with my special tea this morning." As if nothing was out of the ordinary, there was Luna, holding two mugs, unfazed by Hermione's scream.

"Luna! You scared me! Were you… there the whole time?"

"Of course, I _am _getting quite decent at replicating my alarm clock sounds," said Luna with a smile.

Confused, Hermione asked. "Wait, so that was you? Making those _cuckoo _noises?"

"No you don't say it like that Hermione. Make your lips round, like this. And then, _cuckoo, cuckoo._" Seeing that Hermione wasn't following her direction, Luna frowned. "It's okay, not everyone can do that."

"Oh. Well, anyways, you could've just… I don't know, spoken?"

"Why would I do that? That's boring." Luna handed Hermione the purple mug. "Here, this should wake you up."

Defeated, Hermione lifted the mug to her lips. "Luna? There's nothing _inside _the mug."

Luna rolled her eyes. "It's my special _nargle tea_." Taking a big sip of hers, Luna inquired, "Smells like peppermint—no?"

Smiling faintly, Hermione nodded and followed Luna to the living room. A shower would wake her up from this strange wake-up call. However, she was greeted by a rather cheerful Blaise and a somber Draco sitting at her table, both nursing a cup of Luna's tea.

Blaise's expression slightly brightened when he saw Hermione. "Ah, there's Hermione. Luna got you too?"

"Sorry, you guys probably heard me scream."

"No worries, I bloody had a mini heart attack when I saw her looming over my bed. But damn, you look good for someone who just rolled out of bed," said Blaise while he looked her up and down.

Draco grumbled, "Stop doing that Zabini."

Upon hearing Draco's voice, Hermione remarked while heading to the bathroom. "Someone drank a little too much last night; the potion is in my bottom left drawer."

Blaise sniggered. "I didn't know that you needed a bloody potion. Poor Drakey has a wittle headache?"

Draco glared at him and bit out, "Fuck off."

"No need to get sensitive! I was just teasing!"

"Well, I don't care. But I mean it, you better be gone tonight. As much as I would like to witness Potter having a bloody heart attack seeing two Slytherins, for Granger's sake, I don't want him dead. Seriously, go out and shag or something. Just don't bring back anyone to the flat."

"Alright, alright! I'll just leave now then." Realizing that Luna was there, observing them, Blaise said, "The best tea I have ever tasted Luna. Who would've thought of making tea from the very air around nargles by putting it in a jar and boiling it? Brilliant." He strolled out of the flat, feeling quite content after receiving the nod of approval from Luna.

With a grin, Luna asked, "You don't mind if I use your shower, do you Draco?"

Draco shrugged in response and watched as Luna skipped away. With a heavy grunt, he went over to get the potion. Digging through Hermione's drawers, he finally grasped the cool vial and uncorked it with a pop. Upon feeling the cool liquid trickling down his throat, slightly tasting like strawberries—as he requested from Hermione earlier, he felt the grogginess disappear and plopped down on her bed. Draco really didn't want to deal with Pothead and whatever news he would bring along. Overwhelmed by all the news from the last two days, he draped his right arm over his eyes and relaxed into Granger's comforter—finally drifting into a stress-free sleep.

He rolled to his side and let out a content sigh as he nestled his head against the pillow, pulling the covers up to his neck. Realizing that he didn't fall asleep _inside _the bed, let alone resting on a pillow, Draco snapped his eyes open.

Sitting on the edge of the bed was Hermione, carefully applying liquid eye liner with her mouth slightly open. She looked at Draco from the small mirror she charmed to hover in front of her. "Glad you're finally awake, Malfoy. Rough night with Blaise?"

Draco sat up and rolled his neck. "I guess, how long was I asleep for?"

Hermione shrugged. "I would say at least two hours?"

"Damn, sorry Granger, I didn't mean to actually fall asleep." He looked around and asked, "Did I manage to crawl my way into your bed or something?"

Finished with her make-up, Hermione faced Draco. "Well, when I came in after my shower, you were pretty much knocked out on the bottom of the bed, so I just levitated you to a more comfortable position—better than me trying to levitate you across the hall. Oh, and I cleaned a bit so don't get your fingerprints on the glass tables please."

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill Granger." He ran his fingers through his now flattened bed hair and asked, "So… what's the plan?"

"The plan for what?"

"Don't be daft, the plan for tonight. You want me to like hide? Should I just go out with Blaise as well?"

Hermione pursed her lips together. "I did think about it last night. Although you being here will make things a little more volatile—no offense to you of course, I think that you should just stay." Seeing Draco's surprised expression, she explained. "Everybody _knows _that we're rather close, so might as well make it clear that _you're _not going anywhere when he comes."

He smirked but only half-heartedly. "Yes, seeing Potter's reaction will be priceless. It's like that muggle saying, like ripping off a band-aid?"

"I'm surprised you remembered, but yes—just like that," said Hermione with a smile. Noting that Draco was a bit off, she asked gently. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Draco knew that she was referring to whatever Blaise told him. However, he didn't want to burden her with his problems, so he replied, "Nope, just a bit tired that's all."

"I've known you for a while now so don't try to hide things from me. I am quite discerning, you know," said Hermione as she reached for his hand. Placing hers gently on top of his, she asked again. "What's wrong?"

Feeling her smooth hand cover his, Draco wanted to tell her everything. Hell, he wanted to tell her to fix the damn problem. But he wasn't accustomed to having her comfort him; it was always the other way around. So, reluctantly, he slowly slid his hand out and said with a heavy sigh, "Nothing—nothing at all Granger. No, don't scrunch up your nose and look at me like that."

"If you say so, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here—okay?" Getting up from the bed, she leaned over and gave Draco a little peck on the cheek. Hermione said in a light tone, "I think I'm going to get started on dinner. You're free to help if you want."

"Y-Yeah, I will. Um, let me just go change," said Draco as he hurriedly left the room. Draco was flustered. Hermione Granger never kissed him on the cheek. He didn't know what bothered him more—the fact his breath hitched when she kissed him, or the fact that he could still feel where her smooth lips touched his skin. Absentmindedly grazing his fingers against his cheek, he mumbled, "Bloody hell."

* * *

"Where were you Luna? I haven't seen you since you said you were going to shower," asked Draco while chewing a piece of steak.

Looking up from her plate, Hermione chimed in. "I've been here the whole day and I don't think you came in again."

Luna snuck a glance at Blaise and replied, "Something came up at the Quibbler so I had to pop by for a while."

Sensing the odd atmosphere, Hermione innocently asked Blaise, "So, what have you been doing this whole day Blaise? I hope you weren't too bored in Malfoy's flat."

Slightly choking on the water he was sipping, Blaise sputtered. "I went out too, something came up."

Draco raised an eyebrow and drawled, "Right."

Stuffing the remaining mashed potatoes into his mouth, Blaise got up. "Lovely dinner Hermione, but I should get going—before Potter gets here and all."

"It's only five-thirty Blaise," said Hermione.

"Well, better to be safe than sorry—right?" Blaise patted Draco on the shoulder, "Good luck, mate," and left.

Luna slowly picked up her plate, eyes darting between Hermione and Draco, and tiptoed to the sink. She froze when she heard Hermione's voice.

"Where are you going so quickly, Luna?"

Slowly turning around, she smiled. "Just some errands, I won't be too long."

"Luna, you can't leave. They'll be here soon!"

"Oh—right. Almost forgot about that." She plopped back down in her seat, looking a bit disappointed.

Eyeing Luna, Draco took the napkin from his lap and dabbed the sides of his lips. "You don't seem like yourself today—you alright?"

She folded her hands on the table and nodded. "Perfectly normal, as always Draco."

"Of course you are. Granger?" When Hermione didn't respond, he waved his hand around her face. "Granger! Keep on cutting up your steak into itty-bitty pieces because it sure his helping your nerves."

Hermione dropped the knife and fork and replied, "Well, I'm so _sorry _that I'm having difficulty remaining composed because my friends are coming back and I don't know if I should be rejoiced or angry."

Draco, unfazed by her outburst, grabbed her fork and jabbed all the meat on her plate. Leaning forward and holding it in front of her, he demanded. "Open up Granger, you have to eat." When she opened her mouth to protest, he shoved it all in her mouth and grinned.

Not wanting to spit it out, Hermione narrowed her eyes and glared at him while trying to chew. Finally swallowing, she demanded. "Get me some water Malfoy—now."

Still grinning, he got up and strutted towards the fridge.

Luna walked over to the door and said, "I think I hear Crookshanks outside. I'll go fetch him."

Draco placed the cup of water next to Hermione. "Here you go Granger—don't make that face, it was out of good humor!" Realizing that Luna was still standing in front of the open door, staring—probably waiting for the cat to meow or whatever that was there to speak up, Draco asked, "Did that mangy cat bring you a pile of dead rats again? I'll clean it up, so don't start crying again over the lost souls of the bloody rodents."

Not hearing a response, he went up to Luna and looked down to see Crookshanks. However, next to the cat, he saw two pairs of legs and slowly, he ventured up until he locked onto a pair of green eyes. Draco froze and his face set into stone. Apprehension filled him from his toes to each strand of his blonde hair, but no—he wouldn't show it—not in front of Potter. Eyes still locked, Draco's pulled his lips into a smirk—not the one he used when kidding with Granger, but a true Malfoy smirk. Satisfied upon seeing Potter's simmering anger, he crossed his arms. "Well, well, well," he drawled, "Look what the bloody cat dragged in." With a sneer, he spat, "Fucking Saint-Potter and his ginger girlfriend."

Not breaking eye contact, Harry clenched his fists at his sides and bit out, "Malfoy—shouldn't you be rotting away in Azkaban?"

As Draco stepped towards Harry, Luna gently gripped his left arm. "Draco, I'm sure Hermione wouldn't want you to start anything—same to you Harry Potter," said Luna as she grasped Ginny's hand. "Let's go inside Ginny. I know someone's real excited to say hello." Luna led her inside, shut the door and locked it with a loud click.

"Ginny? Goodness—it's you!" exclaimed Hermione, absolutely stunned.

Sprinting towards Hermione, Ginny exclaimed, "Hermione! I missed you so much!" With tears welling up in her eyes, she wrapped her arms tightly around the still-shocked brunette. "It's so good to see you again—finally," she whispered.

Dumbfounded, Hermione was speechless. One moment, they were having a typical dinner, and the next, her old friends were back—greeted by none other than Draco Malfoy. Slowly raising her arms, she pulled away and looked her up and down. "Look at you! You look great Gin!"

"No—look at you Hermione! You just look fantastic!" said Ginny with a grin.

Luna grasped both of their hands and chirped, "This is great—two friends joined together once again. But why don't you tell us what brought you here Ginny? We're all very curious."

* * *

Draco leaned against the door, arms still tightly crossed across his chest. "Think you can just waltz back in there, Potter? Some friend you are," he spat.

"You have no right to even _speak _ferret," growled Harry as he grasped the door knob.

"Don't even try—it's warded. Merlin, you've been away for so long! Didn't you think that _Hermione _would take safety precautions?" Sneering, he continued, "Yes—only Luna and I can open the door. So, you can't get in unless I decide to open it for you—which is never going to happen."

"Hermione lets _you_, YOU, come and go as you please? Merlin, she's lost it."

Draco hissed, "Don't you _dare _criticize her for befriending me. You have no right, considering you just bloody left her _alone _when she needed you most! The fuck is wrong with you—thinking that bloody fucking your little girlfriend around the blasted world would be a good idea."

Furious, Harry pulled out his wand and yelled, "_Stupefy!_"

Despite the wand pressing into Draco's chest, he smirked. "Wands don't work in the vicinity of our flats unless _Hermione _clears them through the wards first. Oh Potter, don't throw fucking a tantrum—what will everyone think? Better get used to it," he clearly enunciated, "Hermione likes me more than -"

Unable to contain his frustration, Harry shoved Draco further against the door, reeled his right arm back, and swung at Draco's face. With a deafening crack, fist met his unblemished face and Draco Malfoy stumbled.

* * *

"Ginerva Weasley—you what?" Hermione couldn't help but stare at disbelief.

"I-I might be, you know—p-pregnant," whispered Ginny. Trying to blink away the tears, Ginny took in a deep breath. "I'm too scared to confirm it, Hermione, what if I really am? I tried to bring it up with Harry last week, but he seemed s-so happy with the idea of a family—even if it's soon."

Gently brushing away the red hair around her face, Luna said, "But you're not ready—are you Ginny?"

"I want to be with Harry—I do, but I just don't know! He's going to loathe me when he finds out how I feel."

Hermione took Ginny's hands in hers. "He will not do such a thing Ginny. He loves you, so much that he just whisked you away to be with you—he missed you that much during the Horocrux days."

"But I feel guilty too, Hermione. Just showing up here when I need you, and not thinking about your needs," Ginny weakly replied.

Hermione smiled and shrugged. "I've been alright Gin; Luna, Draco, and I surprisingly get along pretty well. Look, I'm really glad you're back, but we should really get this sorted out."

Ginny nodded and the three of them went over to the orange couch. Laying down, she gripped Luna's hand.

"Alright Ginny, I'll do the simple charm, okay? White means yes, black means no." Hermione steadied her wand over Ginny's body and commenced the spell. With a final wave and flick, all eyes were fixed on the wand. The room was absolutely still—it was white. The silence was broken as Ginny buried her face in her hands, sobbing and Luna put a comforting arm around her whispering words of encouragement. However, a loud _thud _coming from the hall reminded them of the probable disaster foresting outside.

Hermione rushed to her door, flung it open, and let out a huge gasp. Looking straight into Harry's eyes, she bellowed, "Harry James Potter! How dare you hit Draco! I am absolutely infuriated with you, and _this _is just another reason piled on top of all the others. Get. Inside."

Not wasting time, Harry bolted inside her flat, and Hermione crouched down to help Draco up. "Glad to see you two broke the ice quite well. Wipe that grin off your face, Malfoy. I'm sure you provoked him in one way or another."

"You called me Draco you know, and in front of Potter too."

"Oh? I-"

"We'll talk about it later, Granger." Draco gently held her by the shoulders and asked, "You look a little shaken up—you okay?"

She gently brushed him off. "I'm fine—but it seems Harry did some damage." He opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione pulled out her wand, "_Episkey._"

With a little crack, his left jaw set into place. "Merlin! Dammit Granger! A little warning?"

"Oh hush, Malfoy. I can still see the bruise, so let's get inside."

"At least I didn't pummel him back," he mumbled while going inside.

"I know; I'm proud of you."

When the two of them stepped into the flat, the scene before them was quite humorous—if they were in an entirely different situation.

Harry was breathing hard. Chest heaving, looking a little shocked, when Luna shot up from the couch next to Ginny, who was sniffling and taking erratic breaths—anything to keep herself from bursting into tears again.

"Harry Potter! You will not treat your girlfriend this way!" Luna's usually soft eyes were hard, pointed and she shook a finger in front of him. "You _will _sit down and listen to her speak! I'm quite disappointed with you."

Harry blinked twice and hesitantly sat on the coffee table, facing Luna. "Alright—I'm listening."

Ginny slowly met his eyes. "Harry, I'm not saying I don't w-want the baby." Taking Luna's hand, she continued. "I-I just don't know if I'm r-ready. Before you say anything, I l-love you Harry—really."

He rubbed the back of his neck, and leaned forward. "Gin, I'm sorry for just exploding like that—quite stupid really. I understand where you're coming from, but, just, I don't know." In a quiet, broken voice, he continued, "I j-just thought that you would be excited. But I do know that it is your choice, and whatever that is—I'm behind you, one hundred percent." With that, he got up and kissed the top of Ginny's head.

He went over to Hermione and said with a weak smile, "I know you're probably dying to yell at me, but can a bloke take a walk outside first?"

"Of course you can, Harry," said Hermione as she embraced him in a tight hug. "It's good to see you."

Harry nodded, "I missed you 'Mione." He breathed in, and let out a deep, heavy breath, as he hugged his best friend, tighter.

Draco glanced over at Hermione, and couldn't help the pang of jealousy that coursed through his body. He cleared his throat and growled, "Don't you have a walk to go on, Potter?" He tugged Hermione away and gave Harry a shove towards the door.

"Malfoy, be polite!" Hermione admonished.

"This _is _me being polite, Granger," Draco replied as he draped a possessive arm around her, pulling her closer—just a little bit.

Hermione stiffened, not because this was foreign, but because of Draco's effrontery.

Harry stood his ground—glaring.

"You should get going Harry," Luna chimed, "We'll all be here."

"Great." Harry mumbled and with a curt nod towards Hermione, stalked away.

Draco released Hermione upon the definite click of the door and shoved his hands in his pockets. Avoiding Hermione's gaze, he went over to the fridge. Grabbing the lemonade and levitating four cups to the coffee table, he asked, "Lemonade anyone?"

Following suit, Hermione pulled out four coasters and accioed two chairs over.

Ginny picked up a coaster. "Really Hermione? _Dragon _coasters—green dragons?"

Pouring her a glass, Draco shrugged, "They're mine, but that's not important. Just to set things clear, I have nothing against you—just Potter."

"Some things can't be helped I guess but same goes for me. I trust Hermione's judgment, nice to meet you Draco Malfoy."

Draco was relieved. "So… anyone want to tell me what happened in here while I was in the hall?"

Ginny shifted on the sofa and glanced over to Hermione.

"Gin, only if you're comfortable with Malfoy."

She hesitated before responding. "I'm pretty sure I'll be seeing you often… Draco… so—I'm pregnant!" She laughed humorlessly. "I… I don't know how I feel about… you know."

Draco's eyes bulged. "Y-You're _pregnant?_" Seeing her eyes tearing up, he quickly explained, "I didn't mean it badly Weas—I mean, Gin…Ginny. Just surprised—I swear."

"I know," replied Ginny while she wiped a tear off her face. "Who knew that I would be sitting across from bad-boy Slytherin Draco Malfoy—telling him I'm pregnant of all things!"

Draco cast his gaze downwards. He never thought that Potter's girlfriend would be sitting in front of him—let alone a Weasley. However, what he couldn't fathom was what he was going to say—something he never shared before. Wiping his hands on his trousers, he took in a deep breath.

"When I was home after my fifth year, I overheard my parents talking." Glancing at the quizzical stares, Draco said, "It seems irrelevant, but it's important." When he saw everyone sit a bit straighter and look intently, he continued. "Mother was pregnant—no, I don't have a secret sibling. The timing wasn't great, obviously because of Voldemort. So…so, they decided not to have the baby. Of course they didn't tell me, I had enough to worry about. But honestly, my mother wasn't the same. Sure, keeps up appearances, but she mumbles to herself about what it'd be like to have a daughter…" Draco blinked. Determined not to cry, he tried to swallow his emotions away. "It's rather quite embarrassing to admit, but I would've like a sister—bring some cuteness and fun into the grimness to the Malfoys. It's your choice in the end, well, yours and Potter's but just th-think it through, okay?"

Even Luna was still, shocked by the story that was told. Everyone was silent. Afraid that they were going to say the wrong thing, but mostly because they had nothing to say. To them, Draco Malfoy was quite one-dimensional—charming, intelligent, conniving. His past was dark, but he seemed to bounce back quite easily. However, there was a layer of depth, hidden underneath the scaffolds of his tortuous personality.

Hermione was speechless. She put a hand on top of his, still folded tight across his lap. A single tear, splattered against Hermione's hand. "Draco?" she asked quietly.

He muttered a quiet incantation and looked up—eyes no longer brimmed with tears, no hint of redness. "That was quite a story, wasn't it, thought it was fitting for this…situation. I apologize if I made anyone uncomfortable," Draco said and let out a meek laugh.

Ginny absentmindedly put a hand on her stomach. "I'm glad you shared that, Mal-Draco."

Hermione gently stroked his hands with her thumb. "Me too—really."

A voice cut through the air. "Gin? Hermione? Let me in—please."

Slowly rising from the sofa, Luna said, "About time he came back," and opened the door.

Harry looked less tense than earlier, but when he saw Hermione comforting Malfoy and Ginny sitting directly in front of him, he couldn't help but clench his jaw. "Well, I see that everyone is getting along well," he said bitterly.

"Don't be like that Harry. Get your arse over here—now," Ginny demanded, not moving from the sofa. When he finally dragged his feet across the flat, she patted the spot next to her, and motioned for him to sit. She grabbed both of his hands and whispered, "I'm going to have the baby—our baby."

At that moment, everything around Harry disappeared. He threw his arms around Ginny and sobbed into her soft, fiery red hair. "Oh Gin, Gin… Thank you. I. I'm the happiest man alive."

With tears of joy rolling down her cheeks, she rocked the baby's father back and forth. "I'm happy too Harry. I love-"

Blaise burst through the door and scanned wildly for Draco. He rapidly spoke. "Hey mate, can I borrow a tie?" He stared down at the strange party gathered in Hermione's living room. "Holy fucking mother of Merlin! Hermione? WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE SO SOON?" Blaise threw his hands up in the air. "Why didn't anyone TELL me—shit!"

Ginny amused with a teary chuckle, "Looks like you've accumulated quite the bunch here, Hermione."

* * *

After one the longest days in her life, Hermione flipped her pillow, trying to find a more comfortable position to sleep in. She offered Ginny and Harry her room to sleep in. The Burrow wasn't an option for the couple; Hermione shuddered—imagining Molly's reaction to the news. So Luna suggested that they share a bed and Hermione naturally agreed. However, she didn't know that Luna talked in her sleep, quite loudly—not that it surprised Hermione. She got up, gathering her lavender pillow and blanket in her arms and tiptoed out of the room. For a fleeting moment, she considered sleeping on the orange sofa. Shaking her head, she groggily made her way to Draco's flat; his couch would be better compared to hers. She didn't have to worry about Blaise. After fleeing from her flat seconds after they told him of Ginny's pregnancy, he sprinted out, to Merlin knows where. She tugged her nightdress and prayed that Draco wouldn't be awake. Despite her efforts of going in quietly, the door opened with a long, squeaky, creak.

"Your footsteps are as delicate as a troll's, Granger."

Hermione jumped in the air, and shrieked. "MALFOY! Who the hell just waits in the dark? Turn on the light you prat."

Draco clapped twice, and bright lights flooded the room. Looking down at Hermione, he sniggered. "I was already awake, and I heard you stomping over here—couldn't resist."

Hermione huffed. "Well, I'm here for your couch, Malfoy. Luna's a nightmare to sleep next to."

"Oh, now I'm _Malfoy _again?" He raised an eyebrow and said, "I prefer Draco."

Rolling her eyes, she pushed past him and plopped down on the couch. "It all depends on how I feel at the moment."

Draco considered this for a moment and said in a nonchalant tone, "You can have my bed for the night."

"You don't have to do that, I like it right here," she replied.

"Quit acting like you don't want it; I don't want Blaise to stagger in here piss drunk to find a pretty little ladysleeping on the couch," Draco said in a stiff voice.

With a sheepish smile, Hermione got up and walked to his room. "Thanks, _Draco_. But you sure you still don't want to talk about-"

Draco raised a hand to cut her off. "For the last time—no. I'll let you know when I do want to, okay?"

She nodded. "Goodnight, and thanks for today. Harry was a complete arse; I'm going to give him a good lashing tomorrow, so don't you worry."

"Good to know that you're on my side, Granger," Draco said with a tired smile. He peeled off his shirt and tossed it on the ground. He tried to get comfortable on the couch and gave up. Deciding to grab his pillow from his bed, he quietly knocked on the door.

"Granger? You asleep?" Not hearing a response, he opened the door and couldn't help but smile when he saw Hermione curled up in _his _bed. He leaned over and tried to pull the pillow her head was resting on. After a slight tug, she shifted, turning to her other side. Not wanting to wake her up, he grabbed one of the smaller pillows on the ground.

Draco gazed at Hermione's peaceful face and felt particularly calm. He noticed that she was wearing one of his favorite nightdresses. The simple pale blue one with two thin straps which showed her shoulders. By no means was he aroused by her skin. No, they were just friends—best friends perhaps? Noticing the hem of the dress raised to her mid-thigh didn't help his efforts trying to suppress the inappropriate thoughts drifting through his mind. With a gulp, he reached over and gingerly moved it down to the appropriate length. He cast a cooling charm around the room and raised the blanket to her chin—she liked it this way, and he didn't need to see anymore skin. When Hermione let out a pleased sigh, Draco grinned. He couldn't help but reach down and brush her soft hair away from her face. Placing his lips against her forehead, longer than usual, he whispered, "Goodnight, Hermione," and slid out the door.

* * *

**A/N: I've had this chapter in my head since I started to come up with this story, so it feels wonderful to finally put it together and upload it! Also, I know it took a while, but there's finally more Dramione (and of course, more to come)! Please let me know what you guys thought, I would really appreciate it! :) Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hello! First of all, thank you so, so, so much for all the positive reviews! They mean a LOT and make me want to write more and better-of course. Secondly, I apologize for this chapter taking longer than usual. I had this in my head but for some reason, it definitely was a process for me to actually type it up. Third, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! As always, please let me know what you think and enjoy! :)**_

* * *

"Good morning, I hope you slept alright," Hermione chimed from her kitchen table, munching on her buttered toast.

Draco dramatically rolled his neck and stretched his arms over his head as he entered her flat, "Well, I'm not so sure—for some reason, my body aches all over and—"

"Alright, alright," Hermione said, plastering on her brightest smile and batting her eyelashes, "Oh Malfoy, you are just _too _kind for offering me your bed!"

"Stop it, that's sort of creepy," Draco replied with a shudder.

Batting her eyelashes even faster, Hermione jibed, "I'm so sorry! Do I remind you of someone?"

"Seriously—come on, Granger." Draco crossed his arms and sat across from Hermione. "So, it's already seven thirty, shouldn't you be at work?"

"I have a meeting with Kingsley at nine," taking a sip of her coffee she continued, "So I thought I'd take my time this morning." She pushed a glass of orange juice in front of him, "Here."

"Thanks." Draco lifted it up to his lips and took a big gulp. Right as he put it down, he furrowed his brows and asked, "Granger—where's my cup? How come it's not in my purple cup?"

"It's in the sink."

"What! Shit, don't tell me Potter used my fucking cup. If he even touched _my _cup, I swear—"

"Oh please, don't be such a baby," Hermione chuckled. "I used it. Ginny was about to, but I took it from her and told her that I liked it—much simpler than explaining your possessiveness over that cup."

What Draco wanted to say was, I like that bloody cup because we painted it together at that surprisingly amusing muggle pottery painting place last year, and you painted my initials on the bottom. But what came out of his mouth was, "Right—well, glad you used it."

Offering a piece of toast to Draco, Hermione remarked. "Harry and Ginny went to the burrow this morning and won't be back until later so you won't have to worry about them. And they're planning on finding a place to live—probably muggle." Seeing Draco nodding along, she took another sip of her coffee and tried to shake off the strangeness she was feeling. She slept in his bed quite well last night, too well. However, one thing had her perplexed. She vaguely remembered Draco coming in the room and—no, she was probably dreaming or something. Yes, definitely dreaming because he would never be that tender towards her—right? The feeling of his lips pressed against her forehead lingered in the back of her mind since the morning, hence the reason she got up so quickly and went back to her flat. She could've sworn that his fingers grazed the sides of her cheek—in her dream, of course. Blame it on the weekend, she thought and decided to proceed with the day, as usual. Dabbing her lips with a napkin, she wiped the faint red outline of her lipstick on the mug. "You're up surprisingly early; you don't have any work today, do you?"

"Nope, a drunken Blaise woke me up with his babbling of some pretty blonde girl."

Hermione nodded amusedly and rose from her seat, tugging her black pencil skirt down while heading towards her desk. Gathering her notes on Diricawls, she bent over to pick up her chestnut leather tote and turned around to see Draco with his mouth, ever so slightly open. Putting a hand on her hip, she chided. "Were you examining my _derriere, _Malfoy?"

Draco scoffed, despite the heat radiating through his body. Hoping that he wouldn't turn red, he said, "Why would I do that, Granger? It's not like I've never seen your nicely shaped _behind _before." He noticed that she went a bit rigid, averting her gaze somewhere else and relaxed. "Besides, I sort of wanted to talk to you about something."

"Hmm? I was planning on getting to work to go over what I'm going to say…can it wait? I promise we'll talk—just the two of us, when I get back," Hermione said with an apologetic smile.

"That's fine with me. I'm going to go over to the Manor today, and I'm not sure how long that's going to take, so stick around—yeah?"

Surprised, Hermione's eyes widened, "Did something happen? You never go there, unless it's some kind of formal event."

Draco shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "Nah, Mother just missed me that's all—I'm not doing anything today anyways. I'm sure she misses having tea with you, Granger."

Hermione replied stiffly, "I did enjoy having tea until your father happened to see us at the café—"

"Look, I'm sorry about that—really. Trust me, Mother made sure he would never say those things again," replied Draco as he walked towards Hermione. "Mother really likes you and probably misses your company. I know you haven't owled her and she hasn't either, but maybe you could owl her? I'm sure she'd be ecstatic."

Hermione regarded Draco curiously, "Since when are you so sentimental, Malfoy? But yes, I will; I do enjoy her company as well."

"I've always been sentimental, Granger. You just happen to miss it every time it happens." Glancing at the clock, he commented, "Shouldn't you get going?" Ushering her into the floo, Draco levitated the container of raspberries and cherry tomatoes over. "Don't forget these; seriously, you made me bring them over last time and doing it discreetly was difficult enough," Draco jibed with a nudge.

Letting out a sigh, she smiled, "What would I do without you, Malfoy. Oh! There's some leftovers in the fridge if you and Blaise want it, and tell Narcissa I say hello," Hermione said as the green flames engulfed her with a little whoosh.

* * *

Draco firmly pushed the heavy wooden door, rigid and filled with an uneven mix of anger and sadness. However, when the smell of clear air mixed with disinfectant hit him, the anger dissipated. If it weren't for his hold on the cool, steel doorknob, he would've fallen to the ground. There was his father, the man of power and hubris, reduced to the epitome of quiescence in bed. If it wasn't for the slight green vapor surrounding him, Draco would've assumed the worst. However, his mother resembled the Malfoy image. Dutifully sitting beside her husband, she sat with her long white hair, with the tortoise shell glasses perched on top of her aristocratic nose looking over papers—remaining strong.

"Draco," Narcissa sighed and slowly moved her head towards her son. Quietly, she asked, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

Draco gulped, trying to find his voice and managed to say, "Y-Yes."

She motioned for him to sit down next to her on the ivory chair. "Hermione must have left you something, am I right?" As he sat down, she tentatively put her hand on top of his. Feeling his hand tense, she gripped it firmly. "She's a good girl—I like her. I assume that you have given her my invitation?"

"Is your bloody Christmas party that important to you—_mother?_" Draco strained to keep his quivering voice barely above a whisper. Firmly peeling her hands off of his, he looked into her eyes, missing their usual glimmer, "How _could _you," he spat, "not tell me about this—all of this!" He blinked rapidly, trying to push his tears of frustration back. "Father is _dying. _I'm not blind; he looks like he's dead already! And on top of that, what the hell was Blaise going on about the company! The man I knew, who detested muggle-borns, was doing business with plain muggles this whole time?" He clenched his fists, not caring about his nails digging into his skin. Desperately looking at his mother, as if she had all the answers, he whispered, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Folding her hands in her lap, she sat up even straighter pursing her red lips into a tight smile. Her gaze locked into his almost translucent grey eyes and said in a clear voice, "There is a reason for everything. I know it must seem preposterous but trust me." Slightly quivering under her son's piercing gaze, she continued. "We waited to tell you because we _care _about you, Draco."

"You call _this_, caring? Leaving me in the dark, while you told _Blaise_?!"

Her soft gaze hardened and scolded, "Do _not _use that tone with me; I am your _mother_."

Draco sneered and replied, "Well—_mother. _You might think that keeping me in the dark is what's best, but in the end, I find out."

"Of course you found out because I _told _you—"

"I knew about the pregnancy," Draco said bitterly. Looking past his mother, he fixated his eyes on the small lavender vase and admitted, "I overheard you and father when I was home. And you know what? I wish I had a sister."

Narcissa took in a sharp intake of breath and stuttered, "I-I had n-no idea…"

"Yeah," Draco whispered as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. Taking deep breaths, he relaxed his fists and rubbed the back of his neck.

Narcissa wiped a single tear off her face with her handkerchief and gently placed a hand on his knee. "Draco, maybe you should go home. We can talk tomorrow."

Heaving a sigh, Draco looked up. "I-I shouldn't have blown up like that. I shouldn't have even brought it up." Averting his gaze from hers, he quietly and quickly said, "I'm s-sorry."

With a light chuckle, Narcissa patted his knee, "Just like your father, can't just directly apologize. Even if he does, he's so subtle—so no one hears." Slowly getting up from her seat, she rearranged her robes. "Well, I think I need a respite before we get to the more technical part of our conversation. I'm going to go for a walk in the gardens; would you like to join me?"

Draco shook his head, "I should get going soon, but I'll stay for a bit." Kissing his mother on the cheek, he said, "We'll talk things through properly—a dinner perhaps."

"That sounds lovely, dear," Narcissa said with a smile. "And please, do give the invite to Hermione; it's time sensitive." Seeing suspicious flicker across his eyes, she added, "Don't bother trying to read it, I've put charms on it—_unpleasant_ charms."

After Narcissa gracefully exited the room, Draco returned his attention to his father. He sat down on the chair as emotions filled him to the brim. He needed answers. He desperately wanted to demand them. But that would be futile, because his father was as good as dead. He reached out, through the faint green vapors to touch his father's hand. However, as soon as his fingers grazed the cool skin, Draco's jaw clenched and retracted his fingers. Questions about the company, the family, the incident with Hermione, the illness were reeling through his clustered mind. All he wanted to do was shout, yell, even scream until his father would wake up with the answers; but despite his hands gripping the sheets of the bed, despite the vein throbbing at his neck, only one thing came out through his clenched teeth along with a choked sob—_Why._

Narcissa was never one to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help but linger around the door. After a few moments of silence, she began to head towards the gardens. As she was about to go down the stairs, she heard Draco, unmistakably letting out a sound of anguish. Her heart constricted at that sound, but she dampened her desire to go and comfort him. Draco was her son, but he still was a grown man. She closed her eyes and reminded herself of the one thing—person, who could make this better for Draco—Hermione Granger.

* * *

"What's wrong, Malfoy?" Hermione asked suspiciously as she cautiously stepped out of the floo.

Looking offended, Draco replied, "Nothing, is it that difficult to imagine me putting together your favorite meal when nothing is wrong?"

Hermione looked down at the table. Her mouth slightly watered at the sight of baked salmon with a side of white rice and mashed potatoes, "Yes, it is." Putting her bag down, she sat across him and picked up the fork, "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy this rare opportunity."

"Merlin, have you starved yourself all day, Granger? You're eating like a hungry hippogriff."

Not bothering to look up, she replied, "It was a busy day, so I just had the fruit."

Draco was going to just toss her the invite and let her deal with it, but after seeing her, he decided it could wait—for now. Remembering what Blaise did, he gently pushed the glass of red wine to her. "It's good; you'll need it for later."

"Oh, thank goodness. I need it now." After she took a big gulp, she said in an amused voice. "You'll never guess who's the new secretary in our department—well, not secretary but Martha's assistant."

"Martha's still there? Wow, isn't she—old?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess, but she's still brilliant. Anyways, guess who, Malfoy."

"Beats me, Granger. Who?"

"Samantha," she said loud and clear with a grin.

Draco shuddered and let out a long whistle. "Wow—she's not the smartest… how did she even get the job?"

"No idea," Hermione replied while continued eating.

Waiting for her to finish, he tapped his fingers on his leg, wondering how he would give her the invite. Should he explain first, then hand it to her? Or should he just give it to her and see what happens. He decided on the latter. When Hermione levitated the dishes to the sink, Draco slowly pulled the little envelope out of his pocket. "Here," he said as he placed it in front of her, "Mother wanted me to give you this, and she specifically told me to make you read it now."

"That's odd, it's an invite to her Christmas ball, party, whatever you call it considering that it's my first one." Taking note of Draco's worried demeanor, she hastily opened it and was surprised when she saw a letter. Quickly, she began to read and as she neared the end, her mouth was ajar, in disbelief. "You, you prat! How could you not tell me this?"

Draco put his hands up and sputtered, "Wh-What did I do? I swear I didn't know about the Christmas—"

She rushed over to Draco and embraced him tightly. "You should've told me."

Surprised at her action, he asked, "Told you what?"

"About your father," she said quietly.

Relaxing into her comforting embrace, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "I don't know what to do, Granger," he whispered, "I just don't know."

"It'll be alright—_Draco_. Your mother asked us to come as soon as I read it," she said as she absentmindedly rubbed circles on his back.

Draco nodded and gently pulled away. "Alright, but are you not too tired right now? We can wait until tomorrow."

"Don't worry about me; worry about yourself!" With a quick peck on his cheek, Hermione rushed to her room, "I'm going to change real quick, okay? I'll meet you at your floo."

Finishing the glass of wine on the table, he went over to his flat, surprisingly feeling a bit lighter. He had to remind himself to thank his mother later—for doing the hard part and telling Hermione. It felt good, real good, to have her with him. He turned to see Hermione already in his flat, dressed in jeans and the same thick, white cardigan—the same one from the telephone booth. Seeing her, as an unwavering pillar of support, his mind shook off the fog and focused. Draco reached for her hand and together, they stepped into the floo.

* * *

"I'm so glad you two came," Narcissa said while pouring three cups of tea. "I thought meeting here, in the library would be best," she glanced towards Hermione. "I remember you once said that libraries help you feel more—relaxed."

With a meek smile, she nursed the cup of hot chamomile tea and replied, "I'm surprised you remembered that, Narcissa." She looked up at the magnificent oak bookcases, rising towards the ceiling, each shelf filled with books. "It really is magnificent, but—" glancing towards Draco, she continued, "Are you alright? It must be very difficult for you and D-Draco."

"You can call him Malfoy if that's more comfortable, Hermione. I don't mind at all."

"Maybe at the flat, but here, it feels like I'm referring to everyone within this house," Hermione said quietly.

Narcissa nodded and regarded the pair before her. There was Hermione, looking nervous as if she were waiting for the walls to cave in. She couldn't blame her though; what she wrote in the letter wasn't exactly—settling. Draco on the other hand looked much more composed and relaxed compared to his demeanor earlier. He might not be aware, but she knew the effect Hermione had, and she liked it.

Draco's voice cut through the silence as he asked, "Mother, what did you exactly state in the invite?"

Tucking her hair behind her ears, Narcissa began. "As you now both know, the Malfoy company has had a discreet muggle branch for generations. It was quite surprising for me as well when I found out; everyone is aware of the family's _former _stance on muggle-borns." She kindly looked at Hermione and continued. "Hermione, I'm sure that you have realized that Draco, naturally, is to take his father's place. However, there were some complications, and Blaise has agreed to be in charge along with Draco."

At that, Hermione's eyes widened, "So that's why he's here."

"Precisely. I know that he doesn't seem to have strong work ethics, but I assure you, he does. Now, this is where you come in, Hermione, as I have mentioned earlier."

Draco abruptly interrupted, "What do you mean, where she comes in. You can't just spring this on her! Whatever you're going to say, I'm sure it's ridiculous, and she didn't do _anything _to be involved in thi-this MESS!" He didn't want to get her involved. Getting involved with muggles on such business ventures was illegal. Messing with the law was the last thing on Granger's mind. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt her hand gently squeezing his under the table.

Surprised by his outburst, Narcissa took a sip of tea and reassured him, "I don't plan on forcing anything, Draco. It's clearly her choice after she hears what I have to say. Isn't that right, Hermione?"

"She made it clear in the letter, Draco. All she asked was that I come listen to what she has to say or offer," Hermione said in a gentle tone.

"As I was saying, since Hermione here is of muggle heritage and obviously, is very knowledgeable about the muggle world, she could be a liaison of sorts. Only a select few businessmen are aware of who we are; they were bound to secrecy before your father came into the company. They know about the war and most are skeptical of our _intentions_ after discovering which side we were on."

"And I would be idea since I'm a muggle-born, was on the other side, and relatively close friends with Draco?"

Narcissa smiled and said in a lighter tone, "Exactly, it's no wonder they call you the brightest witch of our age. Plus, I'm sure you and Draco would make a fabulous pair." Unable to ignore her son's stare, she cleared her throat. "However, there _is _one other qualm. This muggle branch isn't approved by the ministry; they don't even know it exists. We would like to make this Ministry approved to—"

"To make sure the Malfoy name won't be tainted further and show the wizarding world that we have _left _our former—stance on things," Draco interjected.

"So, I would come into this because I work within the Ministry and have close relations to Kingsley?" Hermione's shoulders dropped and let out a sigh. "As much as I respect you and your family, Narcissa, this is asking for a lot."

Narcissa reached across the table and took Hermione's hands in hers. "All I ask is that you consider this. I can make sure that you're well off, financially; doubling your current salary is easy, even tripling it is possible. If you're worried about your current job, we can find a way to balance the two out—anything you need."

Gently separating their hands, Draco said with a twinge of annoyance. "You're making her feel guilty now, mother. For something she doesn't even have to do."

"I've put some documents together for you two look at. I left them in the room, so I'll be right back," Narcissa said as she rose from her chair.

Grabbing Draco's hand, Hermione pulled him up and followed Narcissa. "We'll go with you—if that's alright."

With a smile, the three of them went through the dimly lit hallway with Narcissa leading the way. Draco realized that Hermione's hand was still wrapped around his and shifted slightly. Hermione looked down and abruptly dropped his hand, much to his dismay. She mouthed a _sorry, _and picked up her pace, walking in front of him. Draco stuffed his hands in his pockets and trailed behind.

* * *

As Hermione stepped through the door, she could barely stifle a gasp. She couldn't believe how a man, who just last week was walking about, was confined to bed, still as a corpse.

Draco came up from behind and put a gentle hand on her back. Leaning down he grazed his lips against her ear and whispered, "I know, but Mother assured me that he apologized to her for the incident last week. Thanks for coming, Granger. It means a lot to me, no matter what you chose."

Narcissa waved Hermione over, shuffling through papers. "Here there are. Feel free to look through them and let me know what you think."

Taking the papers from her hand, Hermione replied, "I will, thank you."

Shaking her head, Narcissa perched her glasses on her head and said, "No, no dear, thank _you_—for coming here and-and listening." Giving Hermione a peck on each cheek, she said, "Oh, Draco—I need to show you something. It'll be just a moment, Hermione."

Bewildered, Draco was ushered out, leaving Hermione—alone. She placed the documents in her purse and sat down on the chair. "You chose the wrong time to be ill, Mr. Malfoy. Narcissa wrote that you apologized for what happened and that everything she told me came to a consensus with you." Looking down at him, she continued, "Despite the fact that you despised my kind, I'm not surprised that you did business with muggles. You truly are ambitious—anything to get your way, get more." Mustering up her Gryffindor courage, she slowly reached out and placed a hand on his arm. She stilled, waiting for him to wake up and push her hand away. After a few moments, just loud enough for him to hear, she muttered, "Draco's told me stories about you—doing what was best for your family. I really hope you don't leave—not yet at least. Draco…he respects you a lot more than you think." Hearing footsteps, she patted his arm and slung her purse over her shoulders. Looking back, she could've sworn that he briefly nodded in her direction. With a little smile, she pulled the door open. "Goodnight Mr. Malfoy."

* * *

"Granger, I swear, I didn't know that my mother had all that planned. If I knew, I—"

"Shh, it's okay. It's alright, Draco."

Letting Hermione gently push him down on the couch, he felt all the energy dissipate from his body and slumped forward. He buried his face in his hands. He felt so embarrassed showing Hermione his vulnerability and was about to retreat into his room when he felt her hand on his knee.

Slowly rising to her feet, she stood in front of Draco and let him rest his head against her chest. Feeling his body ever so slightly shaking, she wrapped her arms around him—being there for him. The shakes turned into little sobs and she could feel his tears against her bare collarbone. She soothingly ran her fingers through his soft hair and rocked him—slowly, back and forth. She looked down at Draco's figure, leaning against her, shoulders heaving—so broken, and hot tears began to fill her eyes. Blinking back her tears, she took a big gulp and whispered, "I'm here for you—I'm here." After repeating this, like a mantra, over and over, Draco's breaths calmed down, and Hermione began to pull away.

Gripping her cardigan, he said in a hoarse voice, "Don't go— please."

Hermione's heart lurched at his request. "I-I wasn't going any—"

"Just stay, stay with me tonight."

With a nod, she replied, "Alright, let me go get some tea."

Quickly washing Draco's cup, Hermione put the kettle on the stove and changed into a pair of her blue striped pajama pants and a baggy grey shirt. Reaching back to unclasp her bra, she pulled it out underneath her shirt, tossed it on the nearby chair, and plopped down on her bed. She was overwhelmed—too many things to think about. Rubbing her temples, she remembered what was most important—Draco. Hermione pulled the calming draught from her drawer and went into the kitchen. Pouring two cups of tea, she poured a generous amount of the potion into his.

Hermione slowly opened the door to his room. Sitting next to him on his bed, she handed him the tea. "Here, it's in your special cup. You'll feel better after taking a sip—trust me."

With a weak smile, he took it from her hand. "Thanks, I'm acting like a prat and here you are, taking care of me."

"You're not being a prat; it's normal. It's the least I can do."

"Thanks—for not, you know, leaving me," Draco said sheepishly.

"It's not a problem. Like I said, I'm here for you."

The rest of the night passed in mostly silence. The two of them leaned against the headboard and mindlessly watched some television. The silence was filled with little conversation, mostly about work and childhood memories—nothing they didn't know already. Somehow, Draco's arms were around her petite shoulders, as she curled up against his chest, letting out long, even breaths. As his eyes began to droop, he gently removed his arm and laid Hermione down in a more comfortable position. After making sure she was at least an arm's length away, Draco snuggled into his comforter and was about to close his eyes when he felt a leg being draped across his. Attempting to be the gentleman he was taught to be, he lifted her leg and slid his arm underneath her head—trying to move her back. However, as Hermione began to stir, he froze. After what seemed like hours, her breaths evened out and with a content sigh, she snuggled into his accidental embrace, pressing her back against his chest. Not wanting to wake her—that's what he told himself, Draco decided to let her use his arm as a pillow and pulled her a bit, just a little bit, closer. Letting out a shallow breath into Hermione's quite unruly hair, he kept his other arm around her waist, and finally closed his eyes as he said in a faint voice, "I'm afraid—afraid of losing my father," and in a voice so soft, Draco didn't know if he actually said it out loud, "and I'm afraid…that I like you, Granger."

* * *

Draco was sleeping perfectly well, for the first time in days. That's why when he awoke to an annoying pecking at the window, still dark, he grumbled—slightly annoyed. Hoping that the bloody owl would quit and leave, he tried to fall back asleep. However, the owl was relentless and Draco slipped his arm from underneath Hermione's head and groggily padded to the window. When he saw the dark brown owl with the almost gold-like beak, his heart dropped. Eyes wide open, he shakily opened the window and untied the letter from its leg.

Hermione rubbed her eyes and asked, "Draco? It can't be six yet, is it?"

Clenching the letter in his violently shaking hand, Draco took ragged breaths. Struggling to find his voice amidst the strangled sob that was about to erupt from his throat, he stammered, "W-We have. T-to go. He's gone."

.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you everyone so, soooo much for reading, reviewing, and favoriting! It means so much to me (I'm sure I've said that a lot, but it's true). Here is the next chapter of _Wizards_, and I do hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

Draco Malfoy had never experienced great loss—until now. Even during the war, his parents were constantly by his side—albeit quite coldly. He had only ever witnessed grief, only from a distance. He remembers lurking the decimated corridors of Hogwarts, past the Great Hall, and hearing the devastated cries. From afar, he remembers observing the Weasley family, hunched over the still body, which later he learned was Fred. That was when he truly felt like the enemy, capitalizing on their loss. Pulling himself into the present, he observed the scene before him. Fixating his gaze on the leg of the ivory chair he sat on earlier, he barely registered a faint, gentle voice.

"Draco," Hermione murmured as she placed a hand on his back.

Oddly enough, despite the fact that Draco remembered this event regarding the Weasley family, he doesn't remember when _his _grief burst through his chest—making him realize that he had emotions. Maybe it was when he stepped through the heavy oak doors, seeing his mother hunched over her dead husband—shoulders gently shaking. Maybe it was when he saw tears running down Hermione's face with her hand covering her mouth; crying, for someone who had caused her nothing but pain. Or maybe it was when Draco realized that he didn't even get to utter a sentence, a sentence of apologies, hatred, or gratefulness to his father. Maybe it was when he realized that even the nameless Healer looked remorseful. Everyone was grieving—except him. At that very moment, Draco roughly shook Hermione's arm off and stalked out of the room.

"Hermione, dear," said Narcissa while gently dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, "Could you get Draco? There are some papers to be signed; he's most likely on the balcony."

Wiping the tears off with the back of her hand, Hermione nodded and slipped through the door. She couldn't imagine how Draco was feeling right now. It was just this evening when they visited the same room. Yes—they knew this was coming but not so soon. Draco wasn't ready for his life to be turned upside down. Just a couple hours ago, they were together finding comfort in each other. Surely it was a problem that could be dealt with another day. Now, she didn't know what to expect. Taking in a deep breath, she gently slapped her cheeks and opened the French doors. The crisp morning air brushed past her face, and she saw him. There he was, leaning against the cool, iron railing with his head hung between his sagged shoulders.

Rubbing her arms for warmth, Hermione tentatively stepped forward and said barely above a whisper, "Your mother a-asked me to find you." Not hearing a response or seeing any movement, she continued stepping towards him, "Something about signing some papers, Draco." She reached out, "Look, I'm sorry Draco; I really am—but,"

Cutting her off, Draco grabbed her hand and clasped it firmly. With his hand easily wrapping around hers, he brought it on top of the railing and placed it there. When Hermione's palm rested on the cold surface, she shivered and winced at Draco's determined grip. When she finally realized that Draco wasn't going to let go any time soon, she gave up trying to wiggle her fingers out of the grip. Instead, she wrapped her left arm around his torso and leaned her head against his back—trying to embrace him as he did earlier in the evening. Feeling his stiff body against hers, she knew that words were not enough. So Hermione closed her eyes and stayed there to give him warmth—comfort.

Time passed as the birds began to chirp and hints of sunlight began to illuminate the garden; Draco finally released his firm hold on her hand. Slowly, he turned around, not looking her in the eye and said flatly, "I need to sign the papers."

* * *

After signing the Healer's papers—simply stating that yes, this is my father, Lucius Malfoy—he asked Hermione to go home despite her protests. Refusing any meals from the house elves, he eventually found himself in his father's office. The one he was never allowed to enter—until today.

"Death by overexposure to Dark Magic, isn't that too ironic?" Draco spat into the empty space around him. He slumped in the leather chair and stared at the contents on top of the fine polished mahogany desk. There were parchments, a neat assortment of fine quality quills, and a leather-bound book used to keep logs of business transactions. However, something small and rectangular caught his eye. It was a little silver frame, tucked behind pile of parchment, no bigger than the size of his palm. Draco was shocked to see that it was a moving picture of him when he was five—maybe six. There he was, flying on his first broom with his mother looking pleased and smiling at him. His father was standing a few feet away from them, looking dissatisfied as usual. Bringing the frame closer, Draco saw something that couldn't have been. He blinked and watched the picture again. There was his father, first looking like he was watching something distasteful and there it was. At the very last moment, a smile flickered across his face and went away as quickly as it came. Anybody else would call it more of a grimace, but Draco knew his father—that was a smile.

And this was the moment when Draco Malfoy experienced anger. Quickly scribbling a note for his mother, he roughly placed the frame on top of the parchment and apparated away with a deafening crack.

As soon as his feet hit the carpet, he hurled the first thing he could reach against the wall.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shrieked from kitchen holding a plate of pancakes, "What do you think you're doing!"

Staggering back, Draco _looked _at his surroundings and realized that he wasn't in his flat. No, he was in Hermione's. Not knowing what to do, Draco yanked at his hair and stormed out. When he slammed the door to _his _flat, he slumped against the wall—appalled that the first place in his mind was Hermione's flat and frustrated with everything.

"Open up!" Hermione yelled while banging on the door, trying to push open the door. "Come on, Draco!"

He shot up to his feet and threw open the door. "What!" He bellowed at Hermione.

Unfazed, she pushed past him and said authoritatively with a glare, "Don't tell me what. Stop being such a prat and _talk _to me, Draco. You're not saying anything, all you told me was that I should go home!" Realizing that Draco's face was set in stone, void of all emotion, she asked in a desperate plea, "What do you want me to do?"

"Just _leave, _Granger."

Hermione crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm not going anywhere—not until you-you just talk to me."

Throwing his hands up in the air, Draco roared in disbelief, "Dammit, you're so fucking stubborn! Do you not get it? I just want to be _alone._ I thought you were smart, Granger. Just leave. Me. Alone."

Her mouth dropped open. Determined to evoke more emotion from Draco, not caring if the anger was directed towards her, Hermione charged towards him. Shoving him as hard as she could with her hands, she provoked, "I'm bloody brilliant, and I know that it's bad to keep all your emotions boiling inside!"

"You fight like a bloody pygmy puff!" Draco yelled back as he looked down at her, now hitting him with little fists making him barely budge. "You're one to talk because you do the SAME thing, keeping it all inside. And you don't understand; you'll just think I'm a fucking monster!"

"You don't think I'll understand?" Hermione shrieked at Draco, "You don't _think _I bloody understand? You've known me for long enough, and you don't think I _won't understand_?"

Draco jumped back from Hermione, fury coursing through his body. "Fine. I'll tell you what's wrong," he said in a dangerously low voice. "My _father _just died, and I can't shed a damn tear. I'm not grieving like everybody else."

Face slightly flushed, Hermione was taking shallow breaths. Slowly stepping towards him again, she replied, "Everyone deals with loss differently. Some cry, some immerse themselves into something new, and some, well, some get angry."

Somehow, her smooth, calm voice slowed down his heartbeat and relaxed him—just enough, to talk in a somewhat normal voice. "I…I know, but-"

Blaise and Luna burst through the door, looking a bit flushed. Blaise, glancing back and forth between Hermione and Draco asked, "Is everything okay? We heard you guys going at it and came as soon as we could!"

"I think it's alright now, Blaise," Luna chimed from the doorway.

Draco and Hermione gaped at Blaise who was now standing right between them. Not sure if they were supposed to tell Blaise the news or his current state of dress, Hermione was the first to gather her thoughts. "Blaise? Um, why… I mean, where are your pants?"

His eyes widened when he saw that he was only in his emerald green boxers adorned with little brown brooms. "I-I…don't know?"

Luna explained with a giggle, "Blaise was a bit preoccupied and just grabbed the first thing he saw."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose—as if he didn't have enough predicaments already. "Let me get this straight—_Blaise_. You've been in Luna's room, preoccupied…naked."

Hermione gasped. "So THAT'S what you guys have been doing. Now that I think about it…you two were out a lot." Hermione put a hand on her hip and scolded, "Luna, you've known him for like, the weekend!"

Shrugging, Luna said, "Well, that's certainly much longer than my other indulgences. Besides, when Blaise does this thing where he wraps my legs around his waist, grabs-"

"Merlin, we get it Luna!" Glaring at Blaise, Draco demanded, "Get out."

Before Blaise could say anything in protest, Luna grabbed his arm, "Best not to bother Draco when he's upset. We'll be at the Quibbler if you guys need anything." Mouthing _sorry _to Hermione, the whimsical pair left the room.

"Well, that was certainly unexpected," Hermione remarked. Holding his gaze, she couldn't help but smile a little. Holding out her hand, she cocked her head towards the door, "Let's eat some breakfast. I was cooking up a feast before you came and…you know."

Then Draco remembered that today was not a light-hearted affair. Although he was glad that Blaise and Luna came in. Or else, he didn't know what could've happened. After all, he and Hermione were tired—physically and emotionally. What surprised him most was her outburst, not his. He never knew that she approached problems physically. Truthfully, her punches and shoves weren't painful, but it showed him how frustrated she was with him. He had drained the magnanimous Hermione Granger's patience thin. No matter what happened to him today, he felt like he owed her something. So letting out a sigh and trying his best to smile, Draco took her hand and let her lead him to her flat.

Placing a stack of pancakes on the table, Hermione asked, "Orange juice or coffee?"

"Coffee. Definitely coffee, but with-"

"Lots of sugar and cream, I know. Don't worry, you don't like drinking bitter drinks—hard liquor or coffee. Your secret's safe with me." With a chuckle she added, "What would everybody think, the bad boy Draco Malfoy can't handle strong drinks."

Reluctantly he nodded along. "Granger, did you know that you look like hell?"

Sitting down, she frowned. "That makes the two of us then, just trying to lighten the mood a bit."

They sat in silence, listening to the low hum of the refrigerator. Listening to Hermione's breaths, Draco wasn't sure of which topic to bring up first. He could apologize for his outburst, thank her for the food, or thank her for staying with him last night. As he was deciding which would be best, Hermione broke the silence.

"You should really eat something—Draco."

Staring at his coffee, he replied, "Calling me by my first name isn't going to make me eat—although I do like it."

Hermione motioned towards the food, "I didn't lose sleep in order to make this just so you wouldn't eat it. Besides," she said pouring syrup on hers, "we _both _need the energy."

With a huff, he cut a little piece of his pancakes and shoved it in his mouth. Deciding to tread through safe topics, met eyes with Hermione and realized how tired she looked. "So, Blaise and Luna… to be honest, it's not that surprising."

She shrugged, "I guess so, Luna does like to indulge, and I assume that Blaise knows what he's getting into. But I haven't seen her with one guy for more than one evening, so I guess this is a good change."

"Yeah, they are similar. But it's probably best not to expect a budding romantic relationship between them." Draco saw that Hermione shifted in her seat and kept staring at her fork. While they were on the topic of relationships, Draco took in a deep breath and said, "Hey, thanks for… you know, staying with me last night."

With a jilt, Hermione focused on Draco and prayed that she wouldn't blush, "Oh, um, yes, that was good- I mean, it was my pleasure. Wait, no, um… no problem."

Draco broke out into the first genuine smile in the last twenty four hours, "I enjoyed it as well, Granger."

Tucking a few strands of hair behind her ears, she tried to suppress her grin. But when she saw his lips curl up in the brightest smile, she couldn't help the relived laugh that escaped her lips. After this moment of joy, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She wondered if Draco sought her out just because of his loss or because he simply wanted to. Would this be considered as her taking advantage of him emotionally? More than anything, she wanted to blurt these thoughts out, but given the situation, their progression in their 'relationship' could wait—for now.

Draco asked in a concerned voice, "Wait, how come you're not at work?"

"I sent Kingsley an owl, and since the latest project is finished, there's no harm in me taking a day off," she explained. "Besides…um, since he's the Minister and all, he knows what happened."

"Right, well, that's good then," said Draco while he wiped his hands on his pants. He was a bit bummed that the atmosphere returned to its gloomy state, but there was business to be taken care of. Clearing his throat, he suggested, "You should get some rest; you've been up ever since and made breakfast—which was delicious by the way."

"But you only had a little bite and if you need anything, I can come with-"

Casting a warming charm around his plate, he politely cut her off, "I'll finish it later, okay? I should get back to Mother, and don't worry because I won't fall apart into pieces if you're not there, Granger."

Hermione asked with concern, "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Draco leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Getting up, he reassured her, "Don't worry; I'm going to wake you up as soon as I get back, or else, I'd be bored."

"Alright, you _better _wake me up, Malfoy."

With a mock salute, he grinned from the doorway, "I will, I will. Also, I do prefer being called _Draco_."

* * *

Hermione finally got in bed around noon and held up the bundle of documents Narcissa gave her earlier today. Letting her head relax into her pillow, she brought the papers closer to her face and stared at the first line written in impeccable penmanship: _To Miss Hermione Granger_. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she turned the page only to have the heavy bundle drop on her face. With a groan, she rubbed her nose and got up from the bed. Rearranging her pillows against the headboard, she leaned back and spread the documents. As she scanned the first document, her mouth dropped.

_**Magic Infused Muggle Technology**_

_Magical Infused Muggle Technology (MIMT) is a distinct and discreet branch of the Malfoy Corporation which directly infuses magical elements and properties into muggle space exploration technology. It was established in 1958 synonymous with the formation of NASA in the muggle world. The goal of this division is to obtain astronomical substances which may or may not have inherent magical properties. In exchange, the Malfoy Corporation assists muggle scientists in finding solutions in the challenges of the spacecraft launching—specifically in the initial thrust of overcoming gravity. More recent completed projects include…_

This was unbelievable. Hermione Granger never in her wildest dreams even thought that magic, let alone from the Malfoy family, was pivotal to space exploration. She quickly flipped through the pages, and it included a list of muggle officials who knew about this association, a summary of financial benefits, and a list of substances found in space that were suspected of having traces of magic. Feeling her head pounding, she dropped the documents and rubbed her temples. This was surprisingly beneficial to both parties. However, this wasn't Ministry approved, and even Hermione would have trouble coming up with a way to present this to Kingsley. Narcissa's request kept ringing through her mind. Hermione wasn't a scientist; the only muggle science she knew was from what she read in books. All of the sudden, the idea of acting as a liaison between wizards and muggles seemed just unfathomable. However, she had to give the Malfoy family some credit—not just anyone could come up with a business merger like that.

* * *

Draco opened the door with heavy footsteps and threw himself face down on the couch. He called out with a guttural groan, "Granger?"

Not hearing a response, Draco slowly opened his eyes and scrambled off the couch in disgust at what he saw stuffed between the cracks. Grabbing his wand, he cast a _scourgify _all over his body and on the couch—twice for good measure. Levitating the neon yellow thong into Luna's room, he shuddered. Instead, Draco sat on the coffee table and noticed for the first time a little, plain calendar next to the television. He grabbed it and saw that October 31st was circled multiple times.

Digging through his brain, he tried to remember what they were doing. Then he realized that in the little corner of the date, only in writing Hermione could make that miniscule, he made out a sentence: _Halloween at my parent's. You promised, Malfoy, don't try to weasel your way out of this one. _The first thing that came to his mind was how she could possibly manage to write two whole sentences in that little space. Halloween was only a week or so away. With a sigh, he put the calendar back. Deciding that he would confront her about this later, probably tomorrow, he gently pushed open Hermione's bedroom door.

Draco couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at the sight before him because it was so—so Hermione. There she was sleeping deeply in the most uncomfortable position he'd ever seen amidst a bunch of scattered documents on her bed. Carefully untangling her legs and lifting her head upright from her forearm, Draco leaned her against the headboard so he could clean the array of papers. As he was gathering them, he found it ironic that his mother called him and Blaise over just to tell them that she wouldn't give them any details about the company—not until Hermione had given her answer. Draco rolled his eyes when he recalled how Blaise sputtered and complained how she could trust Hermione and not the two blokes in charge. He put the papers on her nightstand and couldn't help but glance down to take just a peek at what the documents said. But alas, his mother was always clever with charms; the only thing Draco saw were blank pages. Focusing his attention back on the now snoring girl, he scooped her up and her head lolled against his chest. Resisting the urge to cuddle with her again, he laid her down and left the room.

* * *

Staring down at Draco, Hermione wondered, why on Earth he was sleeping on her couch—wrapped up in the blankets from his room. She glanced at the clock, and realized that it was eight o'clock at night—unsure if she should wake him up. Draco looked so peaceful, muscles relaxed, almost as if nothing had happened over the past couple of days. Hermione couldn't help but reach out and run her fingers through his impossibly soft hair while brushing it off his forehead. As if some insurmountable force was pulling her towards him, Hermione slowly leaned forward, inching ever closer to his lips. Closing her eyes, she breathed ever so gently before her lips hovered over his, but as she was about to close the gap, Draco's eyes snapped open. Startled by her face so close, Draco abruptly sat up, bumping foreheads with Hermione—hard.

" Merlin! Granger, were you about t-to…"

Hermione blushed hard, "No, I-I wasn't…anything." Cursing under her breath, she ran for her room and slammed the door shut.

Still shocked, Draco shook himself awake and knocked on her door. "Granger?"

Letting out a groan, she yelled, her voice muffled by the bed, "Go away, Malfoy!"

Despite this, Draco opened the door and sat down on the bed next to Hermione. Gently shaking her, he said, "Hey, it's alright. Come on, look at me." Draco bit back a chuckle when he saw her, flushed red to her neck, and he thought that this was her most beautiful yet. "I was just startled, Granger. I hope you don't make habit of trying to snog guys while they're sleeping."

"I wasn't trying to _snog _you," Hermione said defensively. Getting up, she tried to explain, "I was… I was just trying to—oh never mind."

Before she left the room, Draco rose and said clearly, "You make me happy." There, he finally said it. Walking over to her, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You, Hermione Jean Granger, make me happy. I don't…I don't know how to say it, but," Taking in a deep breath, he leaned down until his face was in front of hers and breathed, "I like you." Draco took one step forward, bringing them flush against each other and gently grazed her lips with his. Not sensing any resistance, he took Hermione's face in his hands and kissed her—this time, for real. His mind was reeling. Never did he even imagine that her lips would feel this soft, so perfect, and he felt strangely whole. Hearing Hermione let out a soft sigh was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. And in that moment, when her arms slowly wrapped around him was when he realized that this—right here, with the witch who eventually cared for him, accepted him—this was where he belonged and would remember it forever.

Just then a light, airy voice practically sang, "It's about time you two kissed; wouldn't you agree Blaise?"

Slinging an arm around Luna's shoulder, Blaise answered, "Yes—yes, I agree wholeheartedly."

* * *

**A/N: Yay! They finally kissed! I know it's been a bit serious the last couple of chapters, but it'll be lighter in the next chapter! :) Please let me know what you guys thought! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello everyone! I want to thank you guys _SO MUCH_ for reading/reviewing/favoriting/etc; it makes my day! Also, I recently began my third year of college and it has been relentlessly busy. However, I'm really going to try to update every 2-3 weeks! I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. As always, any comments/suggestions are so, so appreciated. _Enjoy_! :) **

* * *

"Are you and Draco ever going to tell us?" Blaise inquired as he scooted his chair closer to Hermione's.

Hermione glanced up from her papers. "What do you mean?"

"Well, are you guys dating? Shagging?"

Blushing bright red, she sputtered, "We're not sh-shagging! Unlike you depraved nymphomaniacs!"

Blaise chuckled and cocked his head to the side, "Hermione, it's been like a week. The only difference I see is that you guys kiss, more like a peck, on the lips instead of the cheek or something."

"We've been busy with work; unlike you Blaise, all you do is follow Luna around." She shrugged, "If you think about it, we've been literally _together _ever since he lived across from me. I guess it's no different?"

"Well, I guess, but explain this Hermione. Draco's pretty much meeting your parents tonight for Halloween or whatever. What are you going to say when they ask?"

Crossing her arms, Hermione retorted, "They're _not _going to ask because you and Luna are coming—nothing but a group of friends going to my parent's to spend a muggle Halloween." Before Blaise could open his mouth, Hermione warned, "And don't you _dare _think about engaging in your frivolous activities with Luna when she gets back."

Blaise raised his hands in defeat, "Alright, alright! Someone's eloquent today…now I have nothing to look forward to."

Getting up from her table, Hermione shot Blaise a patronizing glare, "Don't forget that you have to wear a costume. No buts! Also, if I ever see waltzing out of Luna's room clad only in a pair of boxers, I _will _hex you." She rolled her eyes at Blaise's pout, "I have errands to run, but do tell Malfoy that I'll be back by five, yes?"

"You're like my bloody mother," Blaise muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Blaise?"

Putting on his most charming smile, he replied, "Nothing at all—I'll see you later."

* * *

Hermione took a deep breath as she waited upon the entrance of the Malfoy Manor. Wrapping her beige scarf a little tighter around her neck, she reprimanded herself for not asking Draco to use his floo. She thought about Blaise's comment earlier; he did have a point. After their first kiss, unceremoniously disturbed, their routine went about as usual—well, it was busier than usual. She was finishing up her Diricawl assignment and poured over the documents Narcissa had given her, and Draco was swamped with family business. Other than Draco going through phases where he wouldn't talk to anyone, Hermione thought that he was faring quite well. However, the question of what they actually were kept bothering her. She knew that Draco wasn't one to put labels on things, let alone relationships, but she really wanted to know; were they a couple? Technically they weren't 'dating' because they haven't had the chance to go literally go out. Hermione sighed; Blaise was right. The only novel activity they engaged in was briefly kissing each other on the lips hello or goodbye. At the thought of actually _snogging _with him made her slightly blush.

"Hermione, it's good to see you."

Startled, Hermione jumped back, "Narcissa! I didn't hear you coming."

"Well, I was taking a stroll in the gardens when I saw you just standing there. You could've knocked, you know."

"Oh! I thought I did! I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

With a chuckle, Narcissa led them inside, "No matter, I was expecting you. Now, how about some tea?"

"Actually, I have to be at my parents' soon."

"Ah yes, I do recall Draco talking about the muggle tradition of…wearing costumes."

Hermione giggled and replied, "I'll make sure to send you a picture. I have something picked out for him."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows, "That certainly sounds comedic. Let's get inside; it's quite chilly today." Ushering Hermione in, they walked towards the library. Sitting down on the plush chair, Narcissa said, "I'm sure you've come with a reason, dear."

Folding her hands in her lap, Hermione clearly stated, "I came here to tell you that I-I accept your offer. I've read over the documents, and I honestly think it's brilliant."

"That is absolutely wonderful news, Hermione," Narcissa uncharacteristically squealed. "I wasn't sure if you'd accept, but I'm so glad you did." After glancing at Hermione's surprised expression, Narcissa cleared her throat and regained composure. "I also have some news that you might like. I met with the Minister earlier this week. He agreed to either approve or disapprove the muggle branch _after _he has a formal meeting with you, Draco, and Blaise."

Hermione was stunned. "You-you met with the Minister?

"I couldn't just stay in the Manor all week, so I put some documents together and paid him a visit," Narcissa replied with a satisfied smirk.

* * *

"There you are, Granger. Where have you been?" Draco asked, shrugging on his black jacket. Leaning down, he kissed a rather excited Hermione. "Blaise told me to be here by four."

Hermione shook her head, "I told him five, but that's no matter." She pulled Draco towards the orange couch and sat down. "So, I have something important to tell you."

Draco shifted against the couch, unpleasantly reminded of what he found the other day. "Hm? What exactly is the news that's gotten your usual serious demeanor all excited?"

Playfully punching his shoulder, Hermione announced, "I agreed! I decided to take up Narcissa's offer. And you'd be surprised that she already met with Kingsley and said that if the three of us…"

Nothing processed in Draco's mind after she said that she agreed. It was great—brilliant because _she _was brilliant. But he didn't expect her to actually jump on board. He knew how twisted things could be, and honestly, he didn't want her to get involved.

"Draco? Malfoy? Did you hear anything I said?"

"What about your current job, Granger?" He asked flatly.

Hermione was taken aback by his response. "Oh—well the Diricrawl assignment is nearly over and-"

"Do you have any idea how messed up the company is? Hm?"

"Draco—I…I thought you would be a bit more, I don't know, happy."

With a heavy sigh, Draco took Hermione's hands in his. "I _am _happy. Hell, I'm ecstatic that you'll be working with me. But, I don't want you to be involved with a potential…mishap. I've seen the overview of the infrastructure and-"

"I _know _the potential problems, Draco! What do you think I've been doing all week? I've seen the reports, files, everything," Hermione exclaimed while pulling her hands out of his grasp.

He couldn't help but feel a little hurt when she retracted from him. Running his hands through his hair Draco struggled to keep his voice even, "I know. But it could get messy, Granger. And honestly, do you think that the _muggles _have clean hands? It takes certain types of men to make shady deals with-"

"But I read the summary about the branch! It looks quite respectable."

"How do you think the previous Malfoys actually _achieved _in getting those deals, Granger, huh? Do you think my father just waltzed into a room full of muggles and _politely _asked?"

"I-I…didn't think of it like that," said Hermione casting her eyes down.

Taking in a deep breath, Draco said gently, "That's why, Granger. I'm not doubting your intelligence or discernment." He lifted Hermione's face towards his. "It-it's because you're too…too good. I like that about you, and…well, you're my _girlfriend_—even though we haven't done anything particularly exciting yet,"

"That's why you're not happy about this?" Hermione chuckled and put a hand on his cheek, "Did you know that your _girlfriend _has been through quite a lot? I think I can handle a few muggle business men, Draco." When she saw him furrowing his eyebrows, she said lightheartedly, "Besides, I'll have you around if that makes you feel better."

"Yeah, I guess so. And besides, I'm technically the boss," he said with a smirk.

"If you're _the boss, _then how come I know what the muggle branch actually does and not you?" Hermione retorted with a smirk of her own.

"Your smirk is surprisingly very Slytherin, Granger. Should I be worried?" Draco pulled her closer to him and smiled when she placed her head on his shoulder.

"Well, my _boyfriend _is the poster boy for the Slytherin house, so it should be no surprise if I happen to pick up a few traits here and there." Snuggling closer, she asked, "How come we always end up arguing?"

Draco shrugged, "Don't know, but I find it sort of amusing. Don't you think so?"

Blaise clapped his hands from the doorway and sarcastically remarked, "Yes, yes! It's so amusing! And I congratulate you, mate, for finally bloody stating that she's your girlfriend!"

"Get lost, Blaise," Draco shouted from the couch.

"Well, I would get lost, but sadly, Luna still isn't home." Plopping down next to Hermione, Blaise muttered, "Shouldn't you get going?"

"Yes, we should. Draco, are you all ready?"

"Yup because some idiot told me to be here at four," Draco drawled.

"Right—I'm going to change, and I'll be right out. And don't forget to wear a costume, Blaise! I left Luna a note earlier so she should have them for you."

Getting up, Blaise frowned, "Do we _have _to wear one? I don't see Draco wearing one."

Hermione replied, patting her purse, "It's because they're in here. Just make sure you get to my parents' at a reasonable time, okay?"

* * *

Draco was nervous. He and Hermione had just apparated a couple blocks away from her quaint, suburban home. With each step, he was positive his intestines were coiling tighter and tighter around his stomach. He glanced over to see Hermione quite the opposite. She wasn't skipping down the road or anything, but he knew that she was enthralled at the thought of him spending Halloween with her family. It wasn't the first time seeing her parents, but it was the first time meeting them as her…boyfriend. He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty at the timing of their growing relationship. He had wanted to take her out, but they were both impossibly busy. Deciding to make up for lost time, Draco took his hand out of his pocket and slowly interlaced his fingers with hers.

Hermione squeezed his hand gently and said with a smile, "This is nice, Draco."

Looking around at the little houses all lined up, perfectly trimmed yards, and weird pumpkins lying about, he squeezed back, starting to feel more at ease, "Yeah—it really is." Kissing the top of her head, Draco pulled her closer as they walked on the sidewalk, stepping on the crisp autumn leaves.

"We're here, Draco," Hermione said as she gently tugged on his arm.

Draco's mouth dropped, "Merlin, this place looks…creepy." He almost jumped back when he realized there was a bloody, literally bloody skeleton sprawled across the front porch. To his right, there was a little witch that cackled about every two seconds, "Witches don't look like _that_, what's wrong with, WHAT THE FUCK!" Upon hearing Hermione scream, Draco pushed her behind him into a corner and spun around to see a man…thing… wearing some sort of mask, wielding some sort of sharp, metal weapon, sprinting towards them. "Dammit, Granger! Where's my wand!"

Just then, the front door swung open and there was . With a hand on her hip, she scolded, "Didn't I tell you to put the chainsaw away, Richard? You're going to hurt someone!"

Turning the chainsaw off, he pulled off his mask, "Sorry, dear. But I must say that I do like Draco here. He practically threw himself in front of our Hermione—unlike that one fellow, Ronald Weas-Weasel-Weasley?"

Draco straightened out his jacket and stepped to the side so Hermione could step out, "Nice to see you again Mr. Granger. I, um, apologize for my language earlier—really caught me by surprise."

Chuckling, he patted Draco's shoulder, "Call me Richard, and no worries, I did startle you two quite a bit."

"Come out, Draco! You've been in there forever!" Hermione rapidly knocked on the bathroom door.

"You didn't tell me that we had to dress like… dental hygienic products!"

"My parents are dentists—what did you expect? If it makes you feel better, I'm dressed as a toothbrush."

Draco pushed the door open with a squeak and came out a defeated man. "I don't see why I had to be a bloody tube of toothpaste," he muttered.

Hermione could barely contain her laugh, "D-Draco…you look absolutely—fabulous." She looked at him up and down in his toothpaste costume. It looked like it came out from a horrid infomercial—complete with a hole cut out for his face and minty green stripes running along the sides. "So—you like my costume?" Hermione made a dramatic turn.

"Well, it's not much of a costume except for the fact that you have a huge bristle on your head."

Scoffing, Hermione gestured towards her outfit. "Didn't you notice that I'm dressed all green? And look, I even embellished a little Slytherin crest on my shirt for you."

Taking a closer look, Draco bent down and gently touched it, "It's quite nice, and I appreciate the sentiment, Granger." Hermione let out a little cough, and Draco realized exactly where his face was almost pressed up against and where his fingers were grazing.

"Oh there you guys are!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed, "Richard! These two look absolutely adorable together—bring the camera!"

"Mum, a camera is hardly necessary!"

Mrs. Granger dismissed her daughter with a flippant shrug, "Nonsense! Now—let me squeeze in between you two." Oblivious to Draco's discomfort, she wrapped her arms around their waists and smiled for the camera, "Say cheese!" She took the picture from Richard and placed it in Draco's hand. "Now you'll remember this forever—where's Luna and her new…friend, Blaise?"

"Luna had some work to finish up, but she'll be here soon." After shooing her parents away, Hermione glanced up at Draco, who was standing there, staring at the picture. "Draco? We have some time before dinner—how would you like to see my room?"

"That sounds good, Granger. Let's get away before your charming mother decides she wants more pictures."

Following Hermione, Draco looked down at himself and felt absolutely ridiculous. The only time he had to wear costumes was either for one of his mother's fancy balls—for those, dress robes were the only required attire. But he had to admit, this was rather…entertaining. He surely didn't mind Hermione's attire—particularly how the green outfit seemed to be a couple of sizes too small, much to his pleasure. He also felt relieved that her parents hadn't mentioned anything about their new relationship. Being in a toothpaste costume wasn't going to help much with his nerves. Walking down the hall, they made a right and entered a surprisingly feminine room—walls painted lavender and white and pink bedspreads draping across the bed.

"This room is quite feminine," said Draco amusedly.

A bit embarrassed, Hermione replied, "My mum took the décor into her own hands. She was worried that all I liked to do was buy books; I guess she took things a little too far."

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Draco patted the seat next to him. "If only she could see your closet now—she'd be so proud."

"Thanks for doing this—going along with the Grangers' weird Halloween traditions."

"It's…it's surprisingly fun. I thought your parent's would be more intimidating, your father at least. But honestly, it feels like I've been over countless times already."

Hermione smiled, "I'm really glad you feel that way."

Looking into her eyes and leaning in for a kiss, Draco replied, "Me too." However as he caught their reflection in the mirror, Draco sniggered. Realizing Hermione's alarmed expression, he quickly explained, "No! It's not you, Granger. I just never imagined that I'd be kissing you in a ridiculous toothpaste costume."

Glancing back, Hermione laughed, "Yeah, it almost looks like you're trying to put some paste on my brush."

Hearing Hermione's parents calling them downstairs, Draco grumbled, "So bloody hard to kiss you properly."

Dinner went surprisingly splendid for Draco. He had imagined many, many things to go wrong—blurting out inappropriate comments about their daughter, spilling the wine, and hell, even choking on the corn. But the only significant event was when he and Hermione announced their new jobs. Richard was taken aback by how such a responsibility was thrust upon his shoulders while Mrs. Granger was grieved by the death of his father, making him realize exactly where his Hermione got her enormous capacity of compassion.

After finishing their meal, Richard retrieved two wrapped boxes and placed them in front of Draco and Hermione. "Now, before you two get excited and feel burdened by this present, I must say that I'm sort of re-gifting them," he said seriously. Grinning as he saw Draco's slightly panicked face, he told them, "Don't get so worried, I don't need anything in return—Draco. Anyways, after you explained the non-magic folk branch of the company, I figured that these would come in handy."

Slowly tearing at the black and orange wrapping paper, Hermione squealed, "I've always wanted one of these, but I was never sure if I needed it!"

With a furtive glance towards Hermione, Draco assumed that this was something of importance. "I don't mean to be…unsentimental, but what is this…iPhone?"

"Oh Draco, it's a cell phone!" Seeing his flustered expression, Hermione put a hand over his, "It's sort of like an owl, minus the owl."

"Right—we can talk on these…phones, am I right?"

Richard let out an unruly, guttural laugh. "I'm sorry—it's just that everyone has one and knows what it is, and I can't help but find this amusing. Excuse an old man who sees teeth every day, yeah?" With a firm pat on Draco's shoulder, Richard exited the room with a little hop.

"I feel so bloody stupid, but if all the muggles have one, might as well have one too." Handing his box to Hermione, he said with a sigh, "You better put this in your bag or else I'll end up breaking it."

Hermione took it from his hands. "Draco—I'll show you how to use it when we get back, okay?"

"Sounds good, Granger." Draco cast a quick cooling charm on himself and asked, "So—when does this trick-or-treat begin?"

Hermione glanced at the clock, "Actually, our little neighbor Max should be ringing the doorbell in about ten seconds."

And surely enough, the doorbell rang. Hermione pushed the bowl of candy into Draco's lap and urged him to follow her. "Hello, Max! Well, aren't you the best looking Batman!" As Draco awkwardly put a handful of candy into Max's bag, Hermione gushed, "And you have some really hard muscles! Very impressive."

Max grinned as he shyly cast his eyes down. "Thanks, Hermione." He slowly looked up at Draco and commented, "You have a toothpaste this year, that's a first."

"Oh! Yes, he's a dear friend of mine and decided to join in this Halloween!" Hermione ruffled Max's black hair and said, "Make sure you get to all the houses before it gets too dark. And don't forget to stop by one last time before you're done for the night, Batman."

Max ran over to the next house accompanied by Robin, and Draco shut the door. "That little kid has such a crush on you, Granger."

Before she had a chance to protest, the doorbell rang again, and Draco swung open the door. "Blaise? Why the _hell _are you dressed like a bloody lobster."

"I could say the same to you, mate. Your costume is a tube of toothpaste!" Blaise retorted with a condescending laugh. Holding up his hand, he slyly whispered, "You'll never guess what Luna's dressed as."

"Marvelous! Everyone's here," exclaimed Mrs. Granger. "Oh—my, you must be…Blaise?"

Giving an elegant bow, he took her hand and kissed it, "Please to meet you, Mrs. Granger."

Exchanging looks with Hermione, Mrs. Granger blushed, "Pleased to meet you too. Now, where's Luna?"

Draco pointed to an orange figure walking up the driveway, "There she is—is she…she's a _carrot?_"

Draping one of his bright red claws across Luna's carrot top, Blaise cleared his throat, "So—where's the candy?"

"Yes, I heard that muggle candies are quite delicious. Hermione told me one of them tasted like the rainbow—I've always wanted to taste one," Luna chimed.

Richard approached the growing crowd around his front porch, "Mr. Lobster," he said suspiciously, "Aren't you a bit too old to trick-or-treat?"

"Stop being so negative, dear. This is Blaise—Hermione's friend and Luna's…boyfriend?"

Blaise extended his claws, "I would shake your hand Mr. Granger, but I don't want to _claw _your hand—get it?"

Everyone forced out a meek chuckle, and Draco rolled his eyes. "That's not funny at all, Blaise."

Winking towards Mrs. Granger, Blaise shrugged, "Can't blame a guy for trying."

* * *

Hermione changed into her lavender nightgown—on Draco's insistence. She couldn't help but feel a bit complacent for Draco's first Halloween had gone so well. Her parents had also granted her only request that they not treat Draco any differently after she told them they…liked each other. Hermione let out a soft sigh as she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind.

"Finally, some time to ourselves," Draco breathed against her bared shoulder.

So many emotions raced through her body as she relaxed into his embrace. However, there was one question—begging to be asked. It's not that she didn't know the answer to it; she just needed to hear it. "Draco?"

"Mm?" He said between feathery, impossibly light kisses moving up her neck.

"Draco—" Hermione felt him still at her tone of voice. Whispering, she asked, "What are we?"

Draco turned Hermione around and grazed her cheeks with his thumbs. He kissed her forehead—then her nose, and finally her lips as he said in a breathless murmur, "Together—that's what we are." Glancing at the clock, he looked down at the sight of his beautiful witch, with her eyes closed and mouth ever so slightly parted. "It's now officially the first of November."

"What does that—"

Draco gently put a finger over her lips, "It's now officially November first." Taking in a deep breath, he ran his hands along her sides. "Will you, _the _Hermione Granger, be my girlfriend?"

Hermione was overjoyed to say the least as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him fully on the lips.

With a chuckle, Draco said against her eager lips, "I'll take that as a yes," as he gingerly pulled down the straps of her delicate nightgown and tumbled onto the bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone! I am _so, so, so sorry_ for taking so long to update! I uploaded this right after I wrote it so forgive me for any grammatical error (feel free to pm me with corrections and such). As always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed/etc! It means so much to me, and honestly, the reviews motivate me to keep writing. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

"So," Kingsley let out with a breath. Shuffling the papers Hermione and Draco spent days laboring over while Blaise ate pumpkin pasties, Kingsley stacked them neatly once again and examined the group. "Blaise Zabini," the minister abruptly turned towards him.

Surprised, Blaise sat up straighter and cleared his throat, "Yea—I mean, Yes?"

Kingsley leaned forward on his desk and remarked, "You've been awfully quiet in this meeting, not that it's a surprise." Seeing his flustered face, Kingsley chuckled, "So why don't _you _tell me why I should approve this enterprise and not have you along and Mr. Malfoy tossed out for running a company with non-Ministry sanctioned branches?"

Blaise glanced towards Draco for help and just as Draco opened his mouth, Kingsley held up his hand. "No, no. I want to hear what Mr. Zabini believes."

* * *

"How many times did I tell you to review your notes, Blaise?" Hermione chided as she draped her robe over her chair.

Putting up his hands, Blaise replied, "I thought you guys were going to do all the talking! How was I supposed to know that Kingsley was—"

"Quit it, Blaise. Everyone knows that between you, me, and Granger that you're the least informed."

Blaise rolled his eyes, "Stop blaming me for everything, seriously. It's not like he threw us out or anything, hell, he approved it. Actually, he really liked the idea."

Hermione went over to the orange couch and plopped down next to Draco. "Don't get comfortable, Blaise. The real work begins _now. _We still have to find someone who can be a part of this muggle branch—that isn't in our peer group."

Pursing his lips together, Draco murmured.

"What did you say Draco?"

"Weasley. Arthur Weasley. He could do it."

Hermione's eyes widened, "I thought—"

"You thought I abhorred the Weasleys? Well, I have nothing against the eldest one, really. And didn't you once say that he has a certain—fascination with muggles?"

"Yeah—he does."

Getting up from the sofa, Draco said decisively, "It's settled then. I'll owl him tomorrow."

Blaise and Hermione looked at each other as Draco left the flat. Blaise merely shrugged and sat down next to her.

"So—Luna tells me that you had something planned for me and Draco tonight," Blaise grinned. "It wouldn't happen to involve the two of you…doing stuff like dancing or ki—"

Hermione smacked the back of his head, "How many times do I have to tell you that you will _never _see me and Luna engage in any sort of sexual activities!"

Rubbing the back of his head, Blaise got up and shrugged, "Can't blame me—I'm a dirty guy."

"Oh rubbish. Now—get out and don't forget to come back over here by eight."

"Yeah, yeah—wouldn't miss it for the world," Blaise patted her shoulder and left.

Hermione leaned her head against the couch and let out a sigh. The work was a lot more difficult than she had imagined at first. Sure, she knew it wouldn't be _easy, _but she worried. She worried about Kingsley's reaction, about how she and Draco would work together—let alone Blaise. Blaise was easy enough, all she had to do was scold him one way or another whenever he got distracted with disturbing thoughts of her and Luna. Draco was another story. Relationship wise, they were fine—pretty wonderful even. Sometimes they would sit together on the couch looking over papers, and others, he would stay in his flat, only coming over to kiss her goodnight. On those nights, Blaise would always reassure her saying that 'Draco's just like that' or just pat her on the shoulder and offer her a drink. She knew that if it weren't for Blaise coming over, she would've said something to Draco—but she didn't need to bother him with her petty feelings. With a groan, she rubbed her forehead and kicked off her shoes.

Hermione's heart dropped when she felt a pair of lips kissing the top of her head. She abruptly turned around, "Draco?"

"Who else would it be—kissing you and all," Draco replied with a grin. "Sorry about earlier, I guess today just stressed me out."

With a tired smile, she replied, "It's alright—it was stressful for everyone."

Draco sat down next to her again and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Feeling her resting her head on his shoulder, he quietly asked, "Am I okay?"

"What do you mean?"

Draco breathed into her hair, "I mean—am I doing okay? Are you still happy with me?"

Hermione placed a hand on his chest and silently chuckled, "Of course I'm happy Draco."

He ran his fingers through her hair and sighed, "I know that's not true, but thanks for at least saying it, love." Gently grabbing her face in his hands, he kissed her forehead. "Let's get away for a weekend—just you and me."

"Promise Blaise won't be there?" Hermione jokingly asked.

"I swear on Merlin, if I have to, I'll tie him to Luna's bed with a charm even _you _can't break."

Placing her hands on top of his, she laughed, "Oh, I'm sure Luna would be quite pleased."

"I could care less—as long as it's just the two of us."

She cocked her head to the side, "You know, that means we have to get all the work done_ ahead _of time. Which means that tonight—"

"Hush, Granger. You're ruining the moment," Draco silenced her with a kiss.

* * *

"Hermione, are you sure it'll work out? I'm not worried about Blaise, but Draco's temper is another story," asked Luna as she levitated the tray of biscuits and tea to the coffee table.

"It'll be fine—I hope." With a shrug, Hermione continued, "Besides, I charmed the portkeys to reappear in their hands within an hour or so to land them right back here if things get too bad."

Luna sipped her tea and smugly smiled, "Well—I hope you prepped your boy for tonight because let's just say, after what Blaise and I did—there's no complaints coming from him for the next week."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "You know, it's quite disturbing that I'm actually getting used to your dirty little stories."

Patting her on the knee, Luna smiled, "Good. Now, run me through the plan again?"

Hermione glanced at the clock. "They're supposed to come here at eight, we give them drinks, the glasses are portkeys to the muggle club, and Draco and Blaise will find themselves amidst a rambunctious crowd."

Luna nodded along with a devilish grin, "When does Harry Potter come into this sneaky plan of yours?"

"I text Ginny right after the others get portkeyed, and then, we do the same thing with Harry."

With a high-pitched giggle, Luna commented, "Tonight would be perfect if only we could actually witness the three of them—together."

"We're here!" Blaise bellowed from the door. Half jogging towards Luna, he hopped onto her lap and kissed her with a grin, "So—what's the surprise?"

Draco walked behind Hermione and pecked her cheek, "Yeah, Granger, what is it? Blaise has been going on and on about how you and Luna were going to put on a _show _of some sorts for us."

Hermione glared at Blaise and wrapped an arm around Draco. "No, it's not a _show or anything _like that." Hermione pocketed Draco's wand as Luna did the same.

* * *

Draco's hand flew up to cover his ears and squinted in the dark. "Fuck! Where are we Blaise?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know!" Blaise yelled above the pulsating music and scooted towards Draco. "Let's just apparate out of here, mate."

Draco reached into his pocket, but his heart fell and let out a growl. "Blaise! Where the _fuck _is my wand!"

"Merlin! Stop yelling! It's loud in here already!"

"Oh shut it! Seriously," Draco frantically searched for his wand, "I can't find it anywhere—where's yours?"

Blaise cast his eyes down and muttered.

"What? I can't hear you!"

"I didn't even bring it with me."

"You must be _shitting _me, Zabini." Draco roughly grabbed Blaise's arm and hauled him towards the wall. "I blame this on your little girlfriend."

Blaise shoved his hands off. "What? Only Hermione could come up with something like this. I bet you that she portkeyed us here. How else would we have gotten—wherever we are?"

Beyond furious, Draco leaned dangerously close to Blaise's face. Just when he was about to tell him to fix everything, a strong hand gripped his shoulder.

"Save that for your love nest—pretty boys." The burly security guard said with a patronizing glare.

Draco whipped his head around. "_What?_"

"You heard me—we're not that kind of place."

Confused, Blaise shrugged and when Draco finally realized what the man was getting at, he stomped over and punched him across the face. "It's not like that at all you little _shit_."

"Are you fucking _insane? _Draco, this guy is twice our size…we don't even have our wands," Blaise quietly reminded.

"Fuck," Draco muttered and looked at the crowd that had now gathered.

Blaise pulled him up and tried to lighten the mood, "Sorry folks, my friend here is a little drunk so don't mind him." He nervously laughed. "Drinks on me?"

Draco shoved him off. "How do you plan on doing that, _Blaise. _You don't even have muggle—" Draco stopped in is tracks when he saw the last person he needed to see in the world.

"What the _hell _are you doing here—Potter," Draco spat.

Blaise rubbed his temples as he saw Harry Potter, looking just as confused as them, "Merlin, I need a drink."

* * *

**I would really appreciate it if you guys let me know what you thought! :) Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Happy 2013! I am terribly sorry for taking so long to update! I hope this makes up for it (there's a little treat at the end of this chapter...if you know what i mean ;) ) Thank you so much to everyone who has been sticking with this story, and also a HUGE thank you for all the reviews/follows/favorites! It means so much to me. Thanks once again-enjoy!**

* * *

Sitting around the wooden table, Luna placed a hand on Ginny's belly, "Pregnancy is such a wonderful phenomenon. Have you heard of the Lovegood's potion?" Not giving anyone a chance to answer, she continued, "I highly doubt it because my father invented it when I was in my mum's belly—maybe I could ask him to brew you some, Ginny; it's highly nutritious, for you and the baby."

Ginny nervously glanced towards Hermione, "Um, sure Luna, that would be…nice."

"Excellent," Luna replied, and with a pat on Ginny's slightly showing belly, she stood up, "I'll owl him now—he'll be so delighted."

Hermione let out a breath, "It's almost eleven now."

Nervously drumming her fingers on her belly, Ginny replied, "Yes—yes it is, Hermione. Don't worry about it too much. They don't even have their wands so what's the worst thing that could happen?"

"I wouldn't worry," Luna chirped from the window. "Draco loves you too much so he won't be too mad." Stroking the owl, Luna giggled, "Actually, they're probably busy being angry at each other—Ginny should be worried the most. Draco and Blaise are _at least _a head taller than Harry."

Before Ginny could even frown at that thought, a reverberating thud filled Hermione's flat.

The three men, decorated with bruises and blood, were sprawled on the floor.

"Merlin, Draco—" Hermione was cut off by Blaise's outburst.

"This isn't over, Potter! I'll have you know that my dick is bigger than yours will _ever _be!"

Harry rubbed the back of his head and slowly stood up, "How the hell did we get back here?"

As if unfazed by the evening's happenings, Draco crossed his arms across his chest and licked his bloodied upper lip, "I'm sure _Granger _can answer that for all of us."

The room fell silent as all eyes went towards a flustered Hermione obviously trying to come up with the best answer. Standing up to her full height, she answered, "Well—the three of us decided that the three of you needed some…quality time together." Ignoring Draco's burning glare, she continued, "You guys would never knowingly consent to any kind of bonding time so we hid portkeys in your pockets that would take you to the muggle bar and portkey you back at eleven and I'm sorry but it was a necessary evil!"

Draco was the first to react, "Fuck—did you even think this through, at all? Bloody Potter over here managed to punch me again, and Blaise almost castrated Ginny's dear boyfriend after his precious man parts were offended. And to top it all off, we had to bloody run from the muggle police." As Hermione stepped towards him, he held up a hand, "I can heal myself, Granger," and stormed out the flat.

Harry limped over to Ginny and ran his hand through his hair, "Do you have our wands 'Mione?"

Silently nodding, Hermione tossed Harry his wand.

"Don't feel too bad, okay? Malfoy was over exaggerating, a little. Besides, it was sort of fun running from the police." With a slight smile, Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and headed towards the floo. Just as the green flames roared to life, Harry shouted, "Oi, Zabini! When we tumbled into the alley, I remember my hand was where it shouldn't have been, and I didn't feel the teeniest _thing _there," and smirked as he disappeared.

Blaise, still sitting on the floor, let out a groan and looked up at Hermione, "It's not small okay? It's pretty big, actually," he finished his explanation with hand gestures.

Blushing, Hermione stammered, "Erm, o-okay then." However, it was the next voice that startled everyone.

"Blaise—why the fuck are you explaining how big your dick is to my _girlfriend_."

At Draco's voice, Blaise shot up from the floor and scampered towards Luna. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, mate." Grabbing Luna's waist, he led her to her room, "Let's go Luna, I've heard wonderful things about your healing spells." Blaise looked back and muttered, "She'll appreciate how big it is," just loud enough for Draco to hear.

Draco put out his hand expectantly, "My wand?"

"Oh—right," Hermione dropped his wand into his hand and took a step back.

"You look as though I'm going to bite you any second," Draco remarked with a raised eyebrow. He came back over to the flat ready to give her a piece of his mind, but seeing Hermione flustered changed his mind. He wasn't a sappy person by any means but being with her seemed to have this effect—yes, it was because of her.

"I see you've healed yourself nicely," Hermione offered while unconsciously licking her lips.

"Potter didn't do any serious damage, you know. He throws punches like a blind Hufflepuff."

"But you manage to get hit every time—wait, don't take that the wrong way."

He merely nodded and remained quiet, not wanting to get angry and storm off again. Taking a step towards Hermione, he said quietly, "Look, nothing too serious happened so I'm not completely livid, but you could've warned us at least."

"I know, I-I really had no tact." Avoiding Draco's gaze, she let out a weak laugh, "I can't believe Ginny and Luna actually went along with it."

Draco couldn't suppress his chuckle, "Granger, you realize that Ginny's hormonal, and Luna is… well Luna." He looked down at his girlfriend who was fidgeting and realized that he couldn't stay mad at her. Closing the gap between them, he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Why didn't you just ask me to try to spend time with Potter?"

Hermione felt warm all of the sudden, too much aware of Draco's close proximity. "Every time I would try to bring it up, you dismissed it—simple as that."

"Fair enough but I have to admit, if it weren't for Potter, I'd probably be sitting in a muggle jail with Blaise right now."

At that, she finally looked up surprised, "What? What did you guys even _do?_"

Draco shrugged, "It's quite a blur, honestly. But it doesn't matter, I'm sure Blaise can fill you in on the details tomorrow."

With a frown, she reluctantly nodded. "So… Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Are we, um, are we okay now?"

Draco shook his head with a grin and pressed another kiss to her forehead. "I don't know," he replied with a mock frown, "You tell me, love."

"I think we're okay," she replied with a sheepish grin.

"Good. Now, let's go to my flat and order some food because I'm starved. Plus, Blaise and Luna are going to go at it like hippogriffs any moment now."

Just then, a wanton moan echoed throughout the flat. Hermione grasped Draco's hand and nodded.

* * *

After finishing off a whole box of mushroom and spinach pizza, Draco and Hermione lounged on his sofa. It seemed like ages since the last time they had alone time—completely undisturbed by Blaise or Luna.

Hermione's bare legs were draped across his lap as they talked about their plans for Christmas. However, it was mostly Hermione talking while he absentmindedly ran his fingers along her legs. Draco would nod along, agreeing to whatever his witch was going on about. He loved her legs. Even though she was petite, Draco thought her legs were especially long and marveled at how smooth they were. Deciding to take his chances, he slowly ran his fingers along her legs higher and higher until he was caressing the inside of her thighs. He could feel his arousal growing and kept going higher until his hands were met with a slap.

"Draco! Have you even been listening to me?"

Keeping his hands firmly resting against her thigh, he answered, "Of course I have."

Hermione felt his warm hands dangerously high on her leg and couldn't help but blush a little. Clearing her throat, she said unconvincingly, "We should clean up our mess before we, erm, go to sleep."

Draco let out a deep chuckle and pulled his flustered girlfriend up so she was straddling him in one swift motion, "Going somewhere, Granger?"

Putting her hands on his broad shoulders to steady herself, Hermione shook her head, unable to form words. Her breath hitched in her throat when she felt Draco's very prominent arousal. His lips were right next to her ear, bringing them chest to chest and she couldn't help but shiver when he spoke, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to have you to myself, princess."

All thoughts melted away when Hermione felt his lips against hers. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. With a groan, Draco kissed her hard and when he felt her tongue against his, he ran his fingers along the side of her torso, never once leaving her lips. One hand pressed against her back and with one hand under her shirt, Draco laid Hermione across the sofa and hovered above her. He quickly removed his shirt, and following his lead, Hermione pulled her shirt over her head. Draco's eyes bulged when he saw that she was wearing nothing underneath and merely lost it then. Hermione shyly smiled, and Draco's mouth descended on hers again while his hands delicately cupped and squeezed her heavy breasts. A dulcet moan escaped her lips as Draco's lips descended to her neck and then to her collarbone.

"Well, isn't this a sight to see," Blaise amusedly remarked from the door.

At the sound of Blaise's unwelcomed voice, Hermione yelped, and Draco leaned down to cover his girlfriend.

Draco growled from the sofa, "Get the _fuck _out, Zabini!"

"Okay, okay! Geez, I just needed you know, a condom," Blaise explained with his hands in the air.

Draco looked at his friend in disbelief, "You need _another one?_"

This time, Blaise smirked, "Well, what can I say? She just wants more and more of me." And with that, Blaise winked towards the couple on the sofa and left Draco's flat.

Looking down at Hermione, confused and flushed, Draco pecked her lips, "I'm going to kill that bastard tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: Please let me know what you thought! Feedback is very helpful because it lets me know if the story is going in a good direction. Suggestions/constructive criticisms are most welcome-thank you guys!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: To everybody reading this, thank you so much for sticking with my story. It means so much to me (I'm pretty sure I say that every time). Thank you for the wonderful reviews (eek! 112 reviews :) )As always, any feedback/constructive criticism is always appreciate, and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter of Wizards.**_

* * *

Like clockwork, Hermione opened her eyes at six-thirty. Disentangling herself from Draco's arms, she quietly made her way to the door. She couldn't be late for work because there were files, forms to be signed, meetings to attend and run, and—

"Granger, what are you doing?" came the groggy voice from the bed.

"I'm getting ready for work, and you better start getting ready as well because…why are you looking at me like that?"

Running a hand through his hair, Draco looked up at his flustered witch with one eye, "It's Sunday. It's Sunday and not Monday." He expectantly raised the covers and patted where she was just a minute ago. It was still dark, but Draco could tell that she was blushing. With a deep chuckle, he got up and gently pulled her back to bed. "You could help me with a certain _problem_, since you're awake that is," he whispered while gently running his fingers along her bare back.

Hermione nestled against his warm body and sleepily replied, "Hmm?"

Draco slowly turned her around so they were face to face. Pressing soft kisses to her closed eyes, he held her left hand and leisurely pulled it downwards until it was resting snugly against his very hard arousal.

He smirked, "I know that you're awake, love." After patiently waiting, Draco was met with silence. Leaning into her ear, he tried again. "After last night, I do believe I could ask for a favor…or be cross with you for the whole day. I _am _excellent at being a prat."

At this, Hermione huffed, "Fine—but no more complaining about what happened then."

Putting his arms behind his head, Draco grinned. He watched her messy brown hair disappear under the covers and as soon as he felt her wet lips, his _thank you _caught in his throat and closed his eyes with a grunt of approval.

* * *

Luna was watching Draco watching Hermione listening to Blaise. She decided that watching was fun, so she watched. She could tell Draco loved Hermione by the way every time she laughed, a faint smile would appear on Draco's lips and disappear and soon as it came. Luna knew that they were meant to be. Draco and Hermione's relationship wasn't grand; it was simple. They were comfortable with each other and cared. Luna had been around both of them long enough to know that they weren't comfortable with just anybody. Besides, their nights were satisfying because Hermione would look, content. For Hermione Granger to look content in the morning was definitely a sign of evening _pleasures._ A light laugh disturbed Luna's thoughts. She continued to watch Draco watching Hermione laugh—it wasn't the first time Luna heard Blaise's version of what happened last night, so she quietly ate her pancakes and watched.

"Is there something on my face, Luna?" Draco asked with a wary expression.

"Nope, I was just watching you watch Hermione. It's quite fun." Luna saw Hermione blush.

Blaise waved a hand in Hermione's face, "Are you still listening? I haven't gotten to the best part."

Hermione dipped a piece of her pancakes in syrup, and smiled. "Yes, I'm still listening, Blaise. Do go on."

"So, by now, I bought everyone, I mean _everyone, _in the club a drink. Merlin knows how much that cost. But Potter told me to tell the bartender to 'put it on my tab,' and I guess it worked since she didn't ask me to pay."

Hermione shook her head, "Did Harry not tell you that you _eventually _have to pay it off? Goodness, I can't even imagine how much it was."

"No worries, this is where it gets even better. Potter had this brilliant idea of just slipping away unnoticed as people were getting pissed, and of course, that was the shittiest plan I ever heard."

"What did you do then?"

Blaise flashed a grin, "Naturally—I agreed."

Draco snorted and put his mug down. "I told you to just give them your watch, and we would be _fine—_bloody Potter."

* * *

_Approximately 12 hours ago…_

"Listen to me Malfoy," Harry groaned. "We'll just slip away, and hide out in an alley or something until the portkey takes us back!"

Draco crossed his arms and looked down at the speckled git. "Are you bloody mad, Potter? You're an exception, but muggles aren't as dumb as they look!" Draco grabbed the back of Blaise's shirt. "Put your drink down, Zabini. You don't even have money to pay for all this. Give the bartender your watch, and we'll leave."

"What?" Blaise tipped the rest of his drink back. "I can't _HEAR _you, mate! Drink up!"

Determined to leave this chaotic hellhole, Draco went up to the bartender. "My bloody friend over there has started a tab."

The bartender chuckled, "Yeah, I hope your friend there has enough money."

Grumbling, Draco took the piece of paper. Salazar, he wished Hermione was here. He quickly converted the pounds to galleons and tried to maintain his cool in front of this muggle. He cleared his throat. "This is no problem. How does one usually _pay _for this tab?"

"A credit card—unless you have a giant wad of cash."

Draco didn't like his tone. He glanced at his nametag—Luke, why did that name sound so familiar? "Well, _Luke. _I will be right back."

Pushing past the crowd, he finally reached the two idiots he was with. Potter was swaying back and forth—obviously he couldn't handle the liquor, and Blaise was drinking straight from an expensive looking bottle. Draco berated himself for wishing Hermione was here. After all, she was the reason he was in this _mess, _to say the least. Then he remembered something, thank Merlin he actually listened to one of Hermione's rants. With a smirk, he glanced towards Potter who was now nodding off on Blaise's shoulder.

"Potter." Draco prodded his head. "POTTER!" Getting no response, Draco grimaced and reached for Potter's back pocket, praying that a mallet? Wallet? was there.

Harry peered through his glasses and shouted, "Get your hands off my bum, Malfoy! I knew you were a creepy bloke." When he realized that he was leaning into Blaise, he abruptly stepped back. "Oh my God, what's going on? Malfoy, are you holding my wallet?!"

"Why, yes I am—Potter."

"Give it back!"

"No. After you practically screamed for me to get my hands off your _disgusting _ass, half the club is staring at you. Obviously we can't slip away, so I'm going to use _your _wallet." Draco was pleased because Potter looked absolutely enraged. After all, Potter wasn't dumb; he knew exactly what his credit card would be used for.

Harry watched Malfoy swagger away, and gave Blaise a hard push. "Zabini! You are going to pay me back, you hear?"

Draco pushed past the crowd and waved the wallet in front of Luke. "Here you go."

"Aren't you going to give me a _card?_"

"Of course I am! Bloody muggles…"

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Here, use this."

Luke rolled his eyes, "You can't use a McDonald's gift card here."

Draco looked at the card. McDonald's… Hermione told him about that place. He decided that Potter was a bloody pig. He scowled and rummaged through the wallet, looking for a more official looking card. "Here." He impatiently tapped his foot against the barstool and almost growled when Luke rolled his eyes again.

"It won't go through."

Draco slapped the wallet shut, threw it at the bartender, and spat, "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

* * *

Back at Hermione's breakfast table, Luna looked Draco square in the eyes, "You should have paid attention to Hermione when she was explaining how muggles pay for things, Draco. You can look at her lips at night, so why do you constantly stare at them?"

Hermione's eyes met Draco's, "Um, let's get back to the story, yes?"

However, Draco got up and put his dishes in the sink. "Nothing really happens after that."

Blaise scoffed, "Oh please, it's just because you don't want me to tell her how Potter punched your face, again."

Draco leaned against the sink and crossed his arms, "We bolted from that damn club and hid in an alley. I gave Potter one of my sobering potions. Not that I'd expect some manners from _him, _but all he managed to do was punch me for using his wallet."

Luna giggled. "Well, I'm sure it was quite an adventure for the three of you."

Patting his stomach, Blaise agreed, "Yes it was. And once again, thank you, Hermione, for this wonderful meal."

Hermione shrugged, "It's no problem. After all, you were the one who came barging in demanding pancakes."

Blaise retorted with a wink, "Well, it's the least you could do after making—"

"Enough," Draco stood next to Hermione. Bending down to kiss the top of her head, he looked at Blaise, "Quit guilt-tripping my girlfriend, Zabini."

Luna clasped her hands together and chuckled, "Seems like Hermione's still not used to Draco kissing her—"

"Did someone just…knock?" Blaise asked mid-sip of his orange juice. He glanced around, Draco, Hermione, Luna, and himself. "I thought Potter and Ginny could just open the door now?"

Hermione looked just as confused, "Yes—yes they can."

With another kiss to her head, Draco slowly walked to the door and joked, "Maybe Crookshanks finally figured out how to knock instead of clawing at the door."

Draco opened the door and promptly slammed it shut.

"Draco? Who is it?" Hermione asked as she made her way to the door. With a nervous chuckle, she remarked, "Maybe Crookshanks _did _knock." However, when she opened the door, her mouth dropped and held onto Draco's arm.

Luna chimed from the table, "Who is it?"

Draco turned around and spat, "It's a _Weasley._"

* * *

**_Please, leave a review! _**

**_Until next time :)_**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello! I know that it's been a while since my last update... and I feel terribly guilty about it! I'm not sure if anyone has seen my author's page, but this semester is winding down, so it's even harder to find time to write. But I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who's been reading-especially to those who have commented and asking for updates (it really motivates me)! Also, I feel so honored that people actually read my stories because I know I'm not the best fanfic writer around. So all of your reviews/favorites/follows really motivate me to write and absolutely makes my day. There's nothing like checking email and finding reviews for this story! :) **

**You guys are the best! I know this chapter is short, but until this semester ends and summer arrives, I probably won't be updating. :( But I felt like I should give you guys something for being awesome readers, so here it is! I hope you enjoy this chapter and find it as humorous as I did. As always, please let me know what you think! (Reviews/PMs make me smile). **

* * *

Draco clenched his jaws. Hermione's grip on his forearm didn't help either. She never really told him what happened. He just knew what Luna told him when he would ask about what happened to that _Weasley. _But he knew enough that Hermione would never want him at _her _flat—let alone, anywhere near her. He couldn't decide if he should shut the door or hex him, but Hermione answered his question. He glanced over to Hermione and immediately wished he hadn't. Her eyes were on fire—literally. Sure, Draco's seen her angry, livid but never like this. She glared as if her unwavering focus could crush his bones—not Draco would mind. He was pleased with Weasley's expression, pure fear.

Just as he opened his mouth, Hermione stepped forward, almost as if she was going to devour the shaking ginger, but sadly instead, she gripped the door and slammed it shut. Slamming it shut was an understatement, Draco could feel the door brush past his hair and hear the deafening thud reverberating through the flat—thank Merlin he stepped back. From the corner of his eye, he saw Blaise quietly stepping backwards towards the bathroom, and Luna rummaging through the cabinets. Draco felt Hermione violently dragging him back to the table.

"Let's _continue _our meal, Draco," Hermione hissed, clipping each word like a threat.

Deciding to stay silent, Draco sat back down and watched her as she viciously cut her pancakes with the butter knife. His confusion increased ten-fold when he saw Luna. "Is that _salt_?"

Luna kept on pouring the five pound bag of salt, which she kept for baking, into a big green bowl. "Why, yes it is—salt." With a smile, she held the bowl against her hip and made her way to the door.

Over the months, Draco had learned to let Luna be Luna and focused his attention back to his terrifying witch. He gingerly placed his right hand on top of hers, "Love, do you want—"

"Bloody hell, Luna!"

At Weasley's exclamation, Hermione looked up from her diced pancakes. Before she could even ask, Luna flipped her blonde hair dramatically over her shoulders and winked at Hermione. With a voice most pleased with herself, Luna explained,

"Salt drives evil spirits away."

Ron's face turned crimson, making his hair seem like a faded orange. "W-What? I'm not evil!"

Luna tilted her head to the side and regarded Ron with a raised eyebrow. "It's still speaking, a little too loudly."

Draco stood up behind Luna, refusing to miss this spectacle. Smirking, he whispered in Luna's ear just loud enough for the salt-sprinkled Weasley on the ground, "You know Luna, more salt ought to do the trick."

"C-come on Luna, please don't-"

By this time, Hermione had gotten up to see what the entire ruckus was about. She couldn't help but grin, just a little, at the sight of Ron buried underneath a mountain of salt. She felt Draco's arm drape across her shoulders, and she relaxed into the crook of his arm.

Luna promptly shut the door and placed the empty green bowl on the kitchen counter. "Well, that was quite fun. I think I'm going to take a walk outside with Blaise." And with that, Blaise in tow, the pair brushed past the ginger still on the hallway floor, once again, leaving Hermione and Draco alone.

"You okay Granger?"

Levitating the dishes to the sink, Hermione sighed, "I'm fine, but we can't just leave him out there," and she turned on the faucet to rinse—she always did that part the muggle way.

With a scoff, Draco rolled his eyes, "Yes. Yes we can. He'll get up and leave—eventually."

After a moment of silence, Draco was beginning to worry—by now, she would've chastised him for being apathetic, a prat even, but she was quiet. He slowly wrapped his arms around her middle. "Do you want to talk about it?" Feeling her trying to wriggle out of his grasp, he held on a little tighter, "Alright, we don't have to."

"I do hope I'm not intruding."

"Mother?! What the h—"

Hermione cut Draco off with a jab in the ribs. "Draco!" she gently chastised, "Narcissa, what a surprise to see you here."

Narcissa smiled and sat down on the wooden chair, "I know I should've owled ahead of time, but don't mind me—you two make such an endearing pair."

Draco let out an irritated huff, "What brings you here?"

"I'm here to _personally _remind you two about the annual Christmas party I will be holding." Narcissa pulled out a perfectly rolled parchment with a green ribbon securing it together. "Before you ask me what's so special, I thought that since the company—yes the muggle ones too—employees will be invited, I thought you two could help me plan it."

Hermione politely took the parchment and unraveled it, "You want me to make sure that the muggle workers won't be intimidated by magic?"

Narcissa beamed, "Precisely. I do wish to include everyone and make my guests comfortable. I _do _throw the best parties you know."

Draco peered over Hermione's shoulder, "You've finalized the guest list? Mother, you usually take ages to… "

Narcissa beamed towards Hermione, "I've invited the Weasley family."

"Oh, that's very kind of you Narcissa."

Narcissa's smile fell, "I thought you would be a little more…excited, Hermione. This wouldn't have to do anything with that Ronald Weasley covered in salt, would it?"

Draco snickered, "It has _everything _to do with it, mother. Perhaps we could invite everyone except that bloody wanker."

Sending a minor stinging hex to Draco's shoulder, Narcissa looked towards Hermione with concern, "If I may, what happened, dear? You never really did explain."

Hermione blinked. She blinked four times and sat down across from Narcissa. The reason she never told anyone what happened, except Luna, was because it was embarrassing. She didn't do anything, but for some reason, she felt stupid—stupid is not something she liked to feel. Hermione looked into Narcissa's clear grey eyes and felt Draco's strong hand gently rubbing her back. Surprisingly, she had found much comfort in the Malfoy family. To her, Narcissa wasn't a mother figure; she was more of a friend. Hermione would always find comfort and support during their tea sessions. So she took in a deep breath and told her story.

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**Please read and review! I'd love to know what you guys think. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: It's been a while! I do apologize for the wait! But I am now officially on summer vacation with plenty of time to write. **

**Also, a HUGE THANK YOU for everyone for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following! Over 300 followers is absolutely amazing! I do hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you again for sticking with this story. I would super-appreciate it if you let me know what you think of this latest chapter-even a little hello would be nice, so I know if everyone who's following still reads this story. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Shifting in her seat, Hermione glanced towards Draco and spoke about what happened for the first time…

"_I'm glad we're finally having lunch together, Luna" Hermione politely remarked._

_Sprinkling salt over her pancakes, Luna smiled. "Yes, this muggle diner is rather fascinating," She eagerly chewed a forkful of salted syrupy pancakes, "and rather delicious!"_

_Hermione couldn't suppress a grin and continued to munch on her chocolate chip waffles. She would run into Luna enough times during the weeks that Hermione suggested a little lunch-date. Without Harry and Ginny's company, Hermione lacked intriguing company…not that Ron wasn't intriguing—he was, just Ron. She attributed the lack of spark and energy in her relationship with Ron to the fact that they knew everything there was to know about each other, probably too much. But he was the only familiar person she had, so naturally, she stuck by. _

_Lunch with Luna ended up being an enjoyable affair. Seeing that neither of the two had any female friends, lunch became part of their daily routine, which Hermione was grateful. Luna proved to be quite amiable and surprisingly always seemed to teach Hermione a thing or two about magical creatures she had never heard of before. _

_After tipping their waitress, Luna linked arms with Hermione and suggested, "How about some butterbeers at The Leakjy Cauldron?"_

"_Um—I guess that wouldn't be a bad idea. It is a Friday, and I needed to stop by Flourish and Blotts anyways," replied Hermione._

_The pair decided to walk a decent twenty minutes to Diagon Alley, mostly chatting about work, weekend plans, and the latest articles featured in The Quibbler. Once they reached the Three Broomsticks, they found themselves in an unusually rambunctious atmosphere. Hermione inwardly rolled her eyes and headed towards the little booth in the back, away from the ruckus. However, Luna pointed to the loud crowd._

"_Hermione, isn't that Ron? And his quidditch friends? Rather odd."_

_Scoffing, Hermione replied, "Why on earth would he be here? He told me he was at work and-"_

_The distinct laugh of Ronald Weasley rang through the little establishment, and Hermione jerked her head towards the source. More than a little upset over the fact that her so-called boyfriend lied to her about work, she marched towards his table. But as soon as she was close enough to hear their conversation, she stopped in her tracks._

"_So she's really that—that desperate in bed?" Dean Thomas eagerly asked._

_Taking a swig of firewhiskey, Ron wiggled his eyebrows and replied, "I swear, it's probably because no one wanted to even touch her in school—she practically begs me like a slut for my d—"_

"_You know Ron—it's not polite to talk about your girlfriend that way," Luna chimed._

_Ron bolted up from his chair, "L-Luna?" He sunk back down as soon as he saw Hermione's simmering eyes. Dean and the rest of their 'gang' quietly disapparated out, leaving him alone._

_Forcing her clenched fists to remain at her sides, Hermione was absolutely livid. "Ronald. Weasley. How DARE you," she spat. Taking a threatening step towards the trembling rehead, she jabbed her finger into his chest. "How. Dare. You. Speak of me like. That."_

"_H-Hermione, I—I didn't…"_

"_You didn't WHAT. After ALL that we've been through. THIS. Is how you treat me? How—"_

_Luna gently placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Let's just go back to my flat, Hermione. I don't think he's worth your time—anyone's time." _

_The last thing Hermione wanted was a scene, so she swallowed hard once and clenched her jaws. She closed her eyes, trying to maintain her composure, as she didn't want to raise her voice any more, but her eyes flew open at the unmistakable sound of fist meeting nose._

"_Bloody hell… L-Luna! What was that for?" _

_Hermione looked down and saw Ron lying on the dirty wooden floor, pressing his hands against his bloody nose. _

"_That was for Hermione of course. What else would it be for?" Luna replied with a smile. She gently tugged Hermione away from the scene. "Let's go to Flourish and Blotts now. That's definitely the last you'll be seeing of him—Butterbeer?"_

Pulling her eyes away from her tea she'd been staring at, Hermione looked up at Narcissa. With a nervous laugh escaping her lips, Hermione sighed, "And that was that. Honestly—now that I've said it out loud, it sounds rather silly…I wouldn't know if that's what boys _normally _talk about or—"

"_Merlin, _Granger, that's _not _normal. That bloody Weasley had no respect," Draco spat.

Narcissa curiously eyed her son and turned to the flustered witch in front of her. "Despite Draco's _foul _mouth, I must agree with him. What he did was absolutely distasteful," Narcissa finished with a frown.

"Well—yes, I am most certainly thankful towards Luna," Hermione remarked. She couldn't help the twinge of anger and embarrassment, and just before she was about to excuse herself, she felt Draco's warm hand covering her fidgety ones underneath the table.

This act didn't go unnoticed by Narcissa. She saw Hermione visibly relaxing, head tilting ever so slightly towards her son. Smiling, Narcissa addressed the pair, "Now, about _my _extravagant Christmas party. First of all, I will gladly remove that certain Weasley from my guest list, but all the others will still be invited. Is that alright, Hermione?"

Draco snorted, "Sounds good to me."

"Draco!" Hermione and Narcissa chided him at once.

"Alright, alright! I'll be across the hall if any of you _charming _ladies require my assistance." Pecking both women on the cheek, Draco grabbed his wand from the counter, cleaned the salty mess in the hall with a flick, and headed back to his own flat.

Making sure Blaise and Luna weren't shagging on _his _coffee table, Draco pressed his ears against the door. When he was sure that no one could possibly be shagging _that _quietly, he turned the cool brass doorknob and entered, looking forward to a couple hours of some peace to himself.

* * *

"I really appreciate it, but Narcissa—it's too much," protested Hermione.

Dismissing the idea, Narcissa replied, "It's the _least _I can do, dear. And I mean it when I say it's the _least. _You're a reasonable witch—it's not like I'm giving you a matching set of diamond necklaces and earrings and shoes!"

Hermione ran her fingers through the silky emerald green gown that was magically dangling from the ceiling. "You do have a point, but Narcissa—it's, not that I'm saying _anything _negative towards this dress, it's gorgeous. But it seems a bit too extravagant."

"Nonsense! Once you put it on—"

Hermione kindly interrupted, "I think it would look absolutely _amazing _on you. Honestly, I couldn't pull this off."

Narcissa tilted her head towards the left and examined the exquisite gown once again. "Well, I did try it on before I purchased it… I just thought this dress was meant for the," she cleared her throat, "younger… yes, younger witches."

"That's rubbish! This dress is meant for you," Hermione replied. "Why don't you take this to my room and try it on again? Then we'll decide."

Narcissa beamed, "Yes—I can't argue with that. We'll figure out something for you Hermione. Don't think I've forgotten that you still need a gown!"

* * *

"_WHAT THE FUCK!_" Draco bellowed while trying to cover his eyes.

Blaise abruptly stopped thrusting his hips in time with Luna's furious pace and pushed her out of Draco's sight. Groping for his boxers, Blaise attempted to explain, but no words were coming out of his mouth.

Draco growled in frustration. "Did you fucking _silencio _yourselves?!"

"_Finite Incantatem,_" Luna whispered from behind the couch.

"Shit," Blaise put his hands in front of him, hoping that would ward off any of Draco's fury. "Uh—I, I can explain?"

"No shit," spat Draco. "Is anywhere even sanitary for me to sit on?"

Luna emerged from the couch, somehow fully dressed, "I think your bed for the most part is safe, Draco."

Groaning, Draco turned around and thumped his head on the door.

"I wouldn't put my face on the door, mate" snickered Blaise.

Recoiling with disgust, Draco bellowed while throwing the door open, "You best stop _fucking around _in _my _flat, Zabini! Get your own!"

* * *

Hermione was sprawled out on the orange couch, littered with details about the Christmas party. She groaned as she remembered promising Narcissa she would purchase a dress by the end of this week. Hermione enjoyed shopping but never for formal gowns and such. As she jotted down some notes about the muggle guests and their knowledge of the magical world, an angry yell disrupted her thoughts.

Without turning her head, Hermione loudly asked, "Blaise and Luna?"

Draco plopped himself down next to Hermione and groaned, "Yes… they bloody _silenced _themselves so I had no idea!"

At this, Hermione was intrigued, "T-They used the silencing charm… on themselves?"

Draco threw his arm around Hermione and let out a heavy sigh, "And just when we thought they tried everything. They should just live together."

Running her hands along his arms, Hermione replied, "But Luna lives here, and Blaise lives with you and…"

Kissing the top of Hermione's head, Draco murmured, "Just live with me, Granger." Ignoring all of her questions, Draco pulled Hermione into his lap. "Let's live together—hell, I already spend most of my days _and _nights here. So, what do you say?"

* * *

**A/N: Ahhh how will Hermione respond? Also, I am taking suggestions for Hermione's gown for Narcissa's Christmas Party! Let me know! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello! Thank you so much for the positive feedback! In the spirit of all the support, I present this fast update! :) Just a way of saying thank you to the readers. Hope you like it and enjoy!**

* * *

Hermione flushed, "Live together?" She tried wiggling out of Draco's lap, but when he refused, she continued, "Isn't a little…a little too soon?"

Draco dropped his hands from her arms and looked away, "Never mind, Granger."

"Draco—wait. I-I wasn't _opposing _the idea. I mean, what would my parent's think? We're not _married _or even engaged! And what about Luna—I can't just kick her out!"

Pushing Hermione off his lap, he grumbled, "I'm going to go back to _my _flat."

"But I'm not done talking!" exclaimed Hermione, shooting up from the couch, catching up with Draco.

"I _said _never mind, Granger!" snapped Draco. Brushing Hermione's hand off, he stormed out the door.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Hermione groaned. Why didn't he let her finish? She even said that she _wasn't _opposed to the idea. With a sigh, she sat back on the orange couch. Draco's proposition did make sense. He spent most of his time here anyways, and Luna spent most of hers with Blaise—shagging everywhere and anywhere. But Hermione couldn't help but worry. What if Draco didn't _like _living with her? Merlin, what would her parents think! Granted, she was an adult, but her parents were still more traditional. This made her question her relationship with Draco. It had been a relatively smooth transition into their newly romanticized relationship. But now, she could imagine all the problems that could arise. If he moved in, they would be spending literally every minute together—they worked together for Merlin's sake. Draco would never get tired of her presence…would he? And with the extra load of work, mostly trying to maintain positive relationships with the muggles, didn't allow them too much free time because she would educate Draco on the muggle 'culture.' So that cut out on their more… intimate moments together. Speaking of intimacy, the way Draco pulled her into his lap was—was quite _nice. _Forcing her mind to take a breath, Hermione draped her arm across her forehead and stretched out on her couch. Yes—she would talk to Draco, after a nap.

* * *

"Well, aren't you just the happiest bloke in the room," Blaise remarked with a grin.

"What the hell are you on about, Blaise," growled Draco as he propped himself on his kitchen counter.

Blaise shrugged, "Did Granger say something?"

"Bugger it all—it's _nothing._"

"Obviously it's nothing—now spit it out because I don't want to tell with an asshole for the rest of the week."

Draco rolled his eyes, "I'm the asshole? _You're _the one fucking all over my flat."

"Yeah, yeah, that's old news. Seriously, mate." Blaise hopped on the counter next to Draco. "Stop mumbling, man."

Taking in a deep breath, Draco groaned, "I suggested that we live together, and she pretty much dismissed the idea."

Unable to contain his laughter, Blaise burst into a fit of chuckles, "That's why you're pissed? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"Dammit, Blaise," growled Draco, while he shoved Blaise off the counter. "It's not funny. Not funny at all."

Clearing his throat, Blaise asked, "Did she actually say she objected? You probably just freaked her out, man. And Luna's technically living with her."

"No, I-"

"Wow—you really suck at this. She's _Hermione Granger; _I'm sure if you two actually talk and-"

"Urgh—Shut up, Blaise!" Draco hopped off the counter. Heading towards the floo, he grabbed a handful of powder and all but screamed, "Malfoy Manor!"

Blaise shook his head. He didn't understand how thick his friend could be. At least it was amusing. With a soft chuckle, he made is way over to Granger's flat. Even though Blaise hadn't known her for long, he could see why Potter and Weasley were best friends with Granger during Hogwarts. She was sharp, humorous at times, and caring. As he looked over at Draco's black leather couch, he grinned. Blaise knew one thing for sure—no one could shag like Luna.

* * *

Narcissa let out a startled gasp as her floo roared to life, "Draco! Good heavens!"

Plopping down on the plush, beige loveseat across from his mother, Draco retorted, "It's good to see you too, mother."

Pursing her lips, Narcissa replied, "Why yes—I am absolutely thrilled to have my son visit unannounced, grumbling on my furniture. Sit up, Draco; I just had them cleaned."

Draco sat up half an inch, glancing at the pile of papers, "You've certainly been busy." When he saw her eyes light up, he immediatey regretted his words.

"And your arrival is most fortunate!" Ignoring Draco's child-like responses, Narcissa continued, "There is still so much to be done. I know Hermione's been working hard, but those were all preliminaries."

Even though Narcissa knew her son's attention was waning, she continued to talk about work. Alone for most of the time, Narcissa took every opportunity to just—talk. She found herself missing Lucius's company. Their time together wasn't filled with flourishing conversations, but they still found comfort and pleasure in each other's presence. To the publics' eye, she had gotten over her husband's death gracefully, so she kept herself busy—especially with her upcoming Christmas Party. So she talked to her son about decorations, green and silver with a hint of red. She read off the names of the muggle employees who were still uncomfortable with magic, the extravagant multi-course dinner, and even which of her house elves were responsible for which course.

"Draco, please, pay attention!"

"I am; I _am_."

"Good—there are two more things. Please don't forget to get in touch with Arthur Weasley. Don't look at me like that, Draco," Narcissa chided. "I know you haven't held a proper meeting yet. Perhaps Hermione should be there too and speaking of Hermione," Naricssa couldn't help but notice Draco sitting up more and eyes coming to life. "Make sure she gets an appropriate gown for my party. You too! It's about time you purchase your own dress robes."

"But-" stammered Draco.

"Oh hush, I will hear none of this." Gesturing towards the paper work, Narcissa let out a slightly dramatic sigh, "I have far too much work to assist you and Hermione on selecting the proper attire." Handing Draco a crisp roll of parchment, Narcissa smirked, "I've outlined everything you two need to know about our muggle guests. Please, don't forget to tell Blaise that this party is _also _a business event. It will be the first time all of the important muggle men will be meeting you, and I _know _for a fact that they do not take you as seriously as your father."

Draco sat up straight and asked incredulously, "What do you mean—they don't take us seriously?"

Narcissa scoffed, "Apparently muggles believe that twenty-three year olds are not capable of handling such a position as yours. Obviously they haven't met Hermione, but as far as you and Blaise—well, I just hope you prove them wrong."

* * *

At the sound of the refrigerator opening, Hermione cracked her eyes open. "Draco?" she called sluggishly.

"Nope—it's me, Granger. Sorry to let you down."

Sitting up, Hermione rubbed her eyes, "Oh, hey Blaise. We're out of lemonade, actually."

"Dammit, well, some butterbeer will have to do then." Uncapping a cold one, Blaise sat down next to Hermione. After taking a swig, Blaise playfully jabbed her ribs, "So, trouble in paradise, eh Granger?"

"Oh, did Draco say something?"

Blaise shrugged, "Eh—not much. But I like you Granger; you're alright."

"O-Oh, well, the feeling's mutual, Blaise," with an awkward pat on his knee, Hermione continued, "You're certainly better than I thought."

"It's only because Draco's my best mate that I'm saying this, okay?"

Feeling uneasy at Blaise's strangely serious tone, Hermione merely nodded.

"Don't worry about Luna; her feelings won't be hurt if you tell her that you're going to live with Draco. Before you say anything, Luna's brought it up a couple of times, why you two don't just live together—it's quite obvious, actually." Before Hermione could interrupt, Blaise continued to speak rapidly, "And maybe if you're worried about what your parents or Potter will think, you could charm the apartment to look like two separate ones? I'm sure that's nothing you couldn't handle."

"How did you know that I was worried about my parents?" Hermione looked at Blaise with curious eyes.

"I thought it was pretty obvious, Granger. You were such a goody-goody during Hogwarts, so I assumed that your parents are more…traditional."

Hermione nodded along, "That's surprisingly intuitive of you, Blaise."

Blaise chuckled, "There's more to this handsome, sex-craved bloke than you think."

* * *

After a brief tea and biscuits with his mother, Draco found himself back in Hermione's flat. He noticed that she had taken to squeezing lemons into their lemonade pitcher and found it quite amusing that she hadn't noticed his arrival. Leaning against the doorframe, Draco quietly tossed the neat parchment from his mother onto the kitchen table. He crossed his arms and observed her furrowed brow and her slightly shaking frame as she used both hands to desperately squeeze all the lemon for all its worth. Draco loved how her cute little tongue always sipped past her lips when she was focused. At first, he thought it was so strange—who does that? But now, he found it quite endearing all the more since she never seemed to realize.

"You might as well make yourself useful," Hermione chipped, still focused on her lemons.

Draco pushed himself off the door, "How the hell did you know I was here?"

Hermione turned and threw a lemon towards a surprised Draco, "I can hear you breathing—Merlin, you breathe really loudly."

Knowing that Hermione was still probably upset for his abrupt departure, Draco caught the lemon easily and playfully pushed her away from the lemonade pitcher. "Alright, I'll do it. You know that you can use magic to squeeze all the juice out-"

Swatting his arm, Hermione remarked, "Goodness, Draco! How many times do I have to tell you that-"

"It tastes better doing it by hand," finished Draco. He placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "How about you wash up and get ready? Let's go out to eat tonight, with Blaise and Luna."

Wiping her hands on the green kitchen towel, Hermione took a moment before responding, "Sure, that sounds good. You sure you can handle the lemons?"

Draco scoffed. Grabbing two cut lemons in each hand, he held them up in front of Hermione and squeezed them easily into the pitcher, "Yes, Granger. I'm pretty sure I can handle it. You were shaking like a bloody Chihuahua, and you were using _both _hands."

"Ugh, you're such a prat, Malfoy! I can't believe I'm going to have to live with this—"

Tossing the used lemons in the sink, Draco whipped around, "What did you say?"

"I said that you're a _prat_, and I can't believe that I have to—oh."

Draco wiped his hands on his jeans and took a small step towards Hermione, "Look, I was a total arse earlier and-"

Hermione pressed a soft kiss on Draco's jaw, "I know. I did some thinking, and—well, living together makes perfect sense."

Grinning, Draco quietly asked, "You sure? I did bring it up suddenly, and I might've been getting ahead of myself."

"My, my, seems like Draco Malfoy is quite considerate," Hermione giggled.

Draco pulled her flush against his chest, "Well, a bloke's got to make it up somehow."

Hermione leaned into his embrace and sighed, "You can be a downright pain in the arse sometimes, but I still like you a lot."

"I like you a lot too, Granger," Draco murmured into her hair.

"So-where are we going for dinner?"

Hermione's floo roared, and Luna stepped out, clapping her hands, "Oh! Dinner! It has been a while since the four of us has gone out!"

Blaise stepped out from the floo after Luna and sent Hermione a wink, "So—you two talked it out, eh?"

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to the reviewers who were on 'guest' since I can't reply back!  
And to 'aeireis,' I will never abandon this story! Thank you for the support! **

**Also, thanks to everyone who sent me suggestions for Hermione's gown! **

**Please R&R and let me know how I'm doing :)**


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